The Storm
by Zan1781
Summary: A raging storm, four trapped children, and an exploding vehicle. Will Grissom be able to save the day? GSR. Complete.
1. The Storm

**A/N: **This fic is being written for RocketScientist over at TalkCSI, who requested something along these lines. The basic outline of this story belongs to RocketScientist! Also, although I will be going out of town for an entire week, and won't be able to update until I return, I hope that everyone enjoys this first installment of _The Storm_!

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.

**Title: **_The Storm_

**Summary: **A raging storm, four trapped children, and an exploding vehicle. Will Grissom be able to save the day?

_---------------_

**Mountain Pass Road, Nevada**

"'Goodbye, Norma Jean, though I never knew you at all, you had the grace to hold yourself, while those around you crawled,'" the sweet melodies of Elton John played on the radio, as the green Saturn's four young occupants kept nervously glancing out of the window at the storm raging around their tiny vehicle.

"I don't like this, Bobby," four year old Katie whispered to her seventeen year old brother. "I don't like the boomers and the lights," she sniffled, clutching Mr. Peanut, her stuffed bear, tightly to her chest. "Mr. Peanut said that he's scared, too, and he wants to go home!" she mumbled, scrunching further down in one of the two back seats, and trying to protect her ears against the loud noises piercing the air every few moments.

"Don't be such a wuss," Jake, her thirteen year old brother, laughed at her from his place in the front passenger seat. "It's just a little rain," he pointed out, as a sudden flash of lightning lit up the two-lane road, giving the four youngsters a glimpse of some of the trees that had already been struck down by the storm.

"Bobby," fifteen year old Lucy uneasily spoke up from her place beside Katie. "Maybe you should just pull over until the storm passes? It's not… it's not exactly safe out here."

"It's not safe?" Katie again sniffled, slipping her hand into her older sister's palm. "It's not safe?" she repeated, holding Mr. Peanut even more tightly and securely against her body.

"It's fine," Bobby mumbled to his sister, as he turned the windshield wipers up to the fastest possible speed, frowning, when they still could not handle the volume of rain pelting the windows. "We'll be home in a couple of hours, and sleeping in our own beds."

"Unless we drive off the road first," Jake chuckled, twisting around in his seat to observe Katie's terrified expression.

"I don't wanna die!" Katie wailed, as the tears instantly started to slide down her cheeks. "I wanna go home! I don't wanna drive off of the road! Bobby, I don't wanna go off of the road!"

"JAKE!" Lucy yelled at her brother. "Why'd you have to do that?"

_Because she's a brat, and I'm tired of listening to her whine?_ He thought to himself with a sigh, settling back in his seat, and staring out of his window. "I don't know," he mumbled aloud. "But she's being a little shit-head."

"I am not!" Katie cried even harder. "And Mommy and Daddy wouldn't like you calling me a bad name!" she added, burying her head in her sister's lap.

"Would all of you fucking stop swearing and yelling?" Bobby screamed at his siblings, his eyes plastered to the road in front of him. "Jesus-fucking-Christ! Just shut the hell up, both of you! I need to concentrate!"

Katie, surprised at her brother's outburst, looked up at her sister, the tears still sliding down her cheeks. "Bobby's mad at me," she whispered, before once again burying her head in her sister's lap.

Lucy swallowed, the color instantly draining from her face. Bobby was usually the calm one out of the four, and he rarely swore. It took a lot for him to get upset, which led Lucy to believe that he was terrified of what was going on around them. "Bobby, just pull over," she quietly ordered him, gently running her fingers through Katie's hair.

"No! We told Mom and Dad that we would be home by dinner, and we're _going _to be home by dinner!"

"Unless we crash," Jake again pointed out, turning around to grin at his little sister. "But let's just say that we did crash. At least we wouldn't be alone," he softly said, still looking at Katie.

"Ri-right," she sniffled. "We'd all be together."

"With the boogeyman. The boogeyman comes out at night!" he chuckled.

"Lucy?" Katie sniffled, her lower lip quivering, as she stuck her thumb back into her mouth, sucking on it.

"He's just joking, Katie, it's okay," Lucy softly told her, glaring at her brother. "Knock it off," she mouthed to him.

Jake just shrugged, before turning around in his seat. _Bitch_.

---------------

**Two-Cents Diner, Nevada**

"It's pretty bad out here, Catherine," Grissom sighed, his cell phone clutched tightly in one hand. Staring out of the diner's front main window, he frowned. "The storm just keeps on coming and coming; it has to stop eventually, I realize that, but I really need to get back home."

"Why?" Catherine asked him, sitting in her office, and staring at the Carter case file. "Wouldn't you rather be safe than sorry?"

"Of course," he replied. "But I've already been gone for a week, and I need to be home in order to—"

"Gil, Sara is already feeding your—" she paused for a moment, scrunching up her nose. "Your insects. They'll be fine; just trust her!"

"I do trust her," Grissom tried again. "But I have work to do at the lab."

"The work can wait," Catherine pointed out. "If the weather is bad, you need to stay indoors. Are you listening to me, Gil?" she prompted him.

"Yes, Catherine, I'm listening to you," he replied, already standing up from his booth, and moving toward the door.

"So are you going to stay inside, until the storm lets up?"

"Of course I am."

"Inside of a building? Or inside of your car?"

"My car," Grissom admitted, clearing his throat. "I'll see you in around five hours."

"Just be careful," Catherine sighed. "And call me if you need anything."

Grissom simply nodded, saying his goodbyes, before slamming his phone shut with a definitive thud. Glancing down at the phone in annoyance, he immediately deposited it into his pocket, before pushing open the diner's door, and rushing out to the Denali. "It can't keep up!" he mumbled aloud, climbing into the vehicle, and locking the door behind him. "It really can't."

Scanning the back of the Denali for a brief moment, Grissom nodded in satisfaction, convinced that all of his lecture materials were still safe and unharmed. Although he realized that he was currently in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a violent thunder storm, he also realized that he was carrying valuable equipment—equipment that he did not want to have to replace.

With one more sigh, Grissom pulled out of the parking lot, raising his eyebrows as the rain started to diminish. "See? It can't last forever," he reassured himself, as he continued his journey back home.

---------------

**Mountain Pass Road, Nevada**

"See, Katie? The storm is starting to go away," Bobby pointed out with relief, as he glanced at his little sister through the rearview mirror.

"I don't wanna talk to you, Bobby!" the little four year old girl angrily told him, closing her eyes, and sticking her thumb back into her mouth. "Mr. Peanut said that you swore, and that you were bad boy!"

"Katie," Lucy sighed, wrapping her arms around her sister. "He was just nervous, okay? That was some scary rain."

"I don't care!" Katie persisted. "Mommy said that it's bad to swear!"

Bobby bit his lip, trying to control his frustration. "I'm sorry, Katie," he calmly told his sister. "And I'm sorry, Mr. Peanut," he added after a moment's hesitation.

"Well, I'm not," Jake muttered from the front seat. "You're still a baby, and babies are stupid."

"Jake," Bobby warned, turning his head for a split second to warn his brother to stop teasing their sister.

"LOOK OUT!" Lucy suddenly yelled from the backseat, her eyes widening at the sight of a fallen tree blocking the entire width of their lane. "BOBBY, LOOK OUT!"

Bobby immediately slammed his foot on the breaks, holding back a scream, as the car's tires tried to find traction on the wet pavement. His eyes wide, and his fingers gripping the steering wheel for dear life, he let out a sigh of relief, as the car stopped just short of the fallen tree. "We're okay!" he announced to his three siblings, trying to calm his racing heart. "Really, we're okay!"

"You almost got us killed!" Jake shouted at his older brother. "Would you keep your damn eyes on the road? Unless you plan on stopping until the rain has completely stopped, you need to be more careful, or we're all going to die!"

"I don't wanna die!" Katie started to wail again, instantly shoving her thumb back into her mouth, with Mr. Peanut clutched tightly in the crook of her arm. "I don't wanna die, Bobby!"

"Calm down, Katie," Bobby sighed. "We're not going to die," he added, as he very carefully released the car's break, driving them around the fallen tree. "We're going to be just fine," he muttered, glancing out the window at the rain that just would not stop.

---------------

**Gorge Road, nearing Mountain Pass Road, Nevada**

"Me, again," Grissom said into his phone. "The rain had slowed down for a little bit, Catherine, but it's coming back harder than ever," he informed her.

"Then would you just pull over?" she asked, rubbing her forehead. "We would rather have you back later than expected, than never at all!"

"I don't want to pull over," Grissom stubbornly told her. "I'll be fine, except—" he trailed off.

"Except what, Gil?"

"Except for the fact that there are fallen trees all over the road, and I'm having a difficult time seeing through the rain."

"Would you just pull over?" she repeated her advice again. "You're being silly!"

"I promise to pull over if it gets any worse," Grissom calmly assured her. "And just so you know, I'm about to turn onto Mountain Pass Road. I probably won't be able to use my cell phone for a little while."

"Fine," Catherine sighed. "Just be careful, understand? We want you back in one piece."

"I understand," Grissom chuckled. "And I'll be fine," he told her, once again cutting the connection.

Gripping the steering wheel tightly in both hands, Grissom frowned, as the rain once again began to pelt his windshield. "I can't see a thing," he mumbled, as the windshield wipers worked tirelessly to rid his window of the rain. Slowing down to a mere crawl, and putting his four-way flashers on, Grissom prepared himself for one difficult drive. "Perhaps I should pull over," he sighed, flicking the radio on for company. "But not right now; maybe a little bit later. I want to get home."

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**Mountain Pass Road, Nevada**

_We're going to be just fine_, Jake inwardly mocked his brother. _Right; that's what Mom said, just before Dad left us. Before Dad left me_, he corrected himself. _Bastard; I hope he rots in hell._

"Bobby, are you doing okay?" Lucy hesitantly asked her brother, her fingers still gently running through Katie's hair.

"I'm fine," he mumbled under his breath, frowning, as the rain just continued to pound against the Saturn's walls and roof. Jumping as a flash of lightning lit up the night sky, he blinked, glancing through the rearview mirror at his two sisters. "Are you two okay back there?"

"I am," Lucy told him.

"Me, too," Katie yawned. "But Mr. Peanut doesn't like the boomers or the lightning," she added, jumping, as another loud thunder clap seemed to crash just above their heads.

"Well, you just hold on tightly to Mr. Peanut, okay?" Bobby told her, once again looking at her through the rearview mirror. "And Lucy will hold onto you, and I'll just drive."

"'Kay," Katie cautiously agreed, putting her head back down on Lucy's lap. "You're okay, Mr. Peanut; I promise. Love you!" she told her bear, closing her eyes.

"Shit," Bobby muttered under his breath, his eyes once again glued to the road. "Of all of the nights for a flash flood, why now? And why on a curvy road?"

"You _do _know that the road can't talk back, right?" Jake asked his brother, raising an amused eyebrow.

"Yes, Einstein," Bobby retorted. "But shush; I'm concentrating."

"Concentrating my ass!" Jake goaded his brother, staring at him across the center console.

"Would you _please _watch your mouth in front of Katie?" Bobby frowned, taking his eyes off of the road for a brief moment, in order to glare at Jake.

"Whatever," Jake shrugged, turning away from his older brother, and resting his head on the window.

"I know that you're upset with Dad," Bobby hesitantly continued, his eyes still on the road. "But you need to find some way of dealing with the pain."

"No shit, Sherlock, but I'm fine. Just drive, okay?" he hissed at his older brother, starting to close his eyes.

"No, you're not," Bobby sighed. "But I'll drop it, for now."

All of a sudden, before anyone could say or do anything else, the rain began to come down even harder, and even faster, completely obstructing Bobby's view of the road. Scared, and a little bit unsure of what to do, he immediately slammed on the car's breaks, once again causing the wheels to lock into place.

"What's going on?" Lucy screamed in terror from the backseat, as her body instantly lurched forward.

"I want my Mommy!" Katie shouted, sitting up, and clutching Lucy's shirt sleeve as if it would rescue her from everything. "Mommy!" she repeated, trying to hold onto Mr. Peanut so that he would remain safe.

_I don't want to die like this! _Jake anxiously thought to himself, as tried to ignore what was taking place around him. _I don't want to die! God, please help us not die! I'm sorry, I take it all back!_

"Oh, shit, oh, shit, oh, shit!" Bobby chanted, as he held onto the steering wheel, attempting to stop the car from sliding any further. Rather than coming to a complete stop, however, the Saturn fish-tailed, spun out of control, and rammed into a tree that just happened to be covering both lanes of the road. Bouncing off the tree, the little car then did another complete turn, before slowly sliding off of the road, and down a fifty foot embankment. Within moments, the sound of an engine on fire could be heard.

---------------

**Further on down Mountain Pass Road, Nevada**

Grissom once again rubbed the back of his neck, before returning his grip to the steering wheel. "I'm just going to pull over," he finally muttered. "This is ridiculous." Moving to the side of the road, he hit the button for his four-way flashers, sighing in frustration as he stared out his front window. "I just want to get home to Sara," he bitterly fumed aloud. "I miss her."

Swallowing, and once again glancing out of the front window, Grissom shrugged, as he turned his car on, and pulled out onto the road. "I want to go home, and I want to go home now. It'll be fine; I'll just go slowly."

But twenty minutes later, it became clear to Grissom that everything was _not _okay. He was at a stand-still, with a large tree blocking the road ahead of him. "And glass? Is that glass strewn about the pavement?" he mused, as lightning lit up the sky, reflecting off of something shiny. "But… why is there glass here?"

Slowly getting out of his car to investigate, Grissom jumped, as he heard a popping noise coming from somewhere to his left. "Was that an explosion?" he muttered, carefully making his way to the edge of the embankment, wiping the rain out of his eyes. "What's going on here?" Anxiously glancing over the edge, Grissom's eyes widened in alarm, as he observed a car laying on its side, with steam pouring out of the engine.

"Help!" a young voice called out. "Please, somebody help us!"

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TO BE CONTINUED 


	2. Fear

**A/N: **I'm glad everyone is enjoying this story so far! Just in case I haven't mentioned it, my classes begin again this week. I'll try to update as much as I can, but you will probably only get one chapter a week. Sorry! But again, thank you for reading and/or reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.

**Title: **_Fear_

**Summary: **A raging storm, four trapped children, and an exploding vehicle. Will Grissom be able to save the day?

_---------------_

**Mountain Pass Road, Nevada**

In the backseat of the rain soaked and mud spattered Saturn, Katie continued to wail, as the car flew over the very edge of the road, flipping over, and landing on its side at the bottom of a fifty foot gully. "I can't find Mr. Peanut! Where's Mr. Peanut?" she screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice showing the true extent of her panic and fear. "Bobby, where's Mr. Peanut? Mr. Peanut? Where are you?" she continued to scream, blindly clawing at her seatbelt in the hopes of getting out. "Bobby, I want to go home," Katie swallowed. "I want to go home right now; you take me there, or Mommy is going to be very, very mad at you!" Trying to look out of her window to gauge their current location, Katie raised a confused eyebrow, as she saw absolutely nothing. _Did the boogeyman already get us? Are we gonna die?_ _I don't wanna die!_

"Katie, are you okay?" Jake loudly called out from the front passenger seat, trying to twist around to look at his little sister. "Are you hurt?" Staring out of his window, he frowned at the unrelenting rain, cringing, as another thunder clap crashed just above their battered vehicle.

"Nuh-uh," Katie immediately replied, still trying to unbuckle her seat belt. "Because I can't find Mr. Peanut, and I don't want him to die, Jake!" Swallowing, the little girl shrieked in terror, as the rain continued to pelt their car.

"Shut up about the damn bear!" the thirteen year old screamed at her. "We're stuck in this damn car, at the bottom of a gully! Who cares about your bear?" He yelled, so lost in his own fear and anger, that he forgot to find out how his other siblings were doing.

Katie sniffled, before the tears once again began to slide down her cheeks. "I want Mr. Peanut," she whispered, trying to pull herself free of her seatbelt. "The boogeyman is going to come and get us, and Mr. Peanut can save me! Mommy told me so!"

Jake glanced at his sister in confusion. "Boogeyman? Don't be an idiot! There's no such thing!"

"But you said—" she trailed off. "And I can't see out my window," she pointed out.

"Because your window is pressed against the dirt, moron," he told her.

"Don't call her a moron," Lucy weakly mumbled from beside Katie, her body half dangling in the air.

"Lucy? Are you okay?" Jake asked his fifteen-year old sister, as if finally remembering that he and Katie were not the only two people in the car.

Lucy did not respond, as she closed her eyes, muttering something else under her breath.

"Lucy?" Jake called out again. "Lucy?" When his sister did not reply for a second time, Jake immediately looked at Bobby, his eyes widening in fear. "Bobby? Are you okay? Bobby, wake up!" he screamed, reaching a hand over the center console, and lightly shaking his seventeen-year old brother's shoulder. "WAKE UP!"

"Why aren't they talking to us?" Katie sniffled, trying to look up at her brother for reassurance. "Are they mad at us?" she asked, hiccupping. "Did we do something wrong, Jake?"

"I, uh," Jake swallowed, bringing his own hand back to his body in terror. "No, Katie, they're not mad at us," he nervously replied, trying to get a closer look at Bobby. Closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath, he once again reached a hand out toward his brother, pressing two fingers against his neck. _Thank God for basic CPR training_, he anxiously thought to himself, as he tried to find Bobby's pulse. Pressing his fingers down even harder, he concentrated, willing himself to find evidence that his brother was actually still alive. _Come on, come on_, he frowned, until moments later, when he felt the weakest of pulses. _It's weak, but at least you're still alive. _

"Why isn't Bobby talking back to you?" Katie persisted, before sticking an anxious thumb in her mouth. "He has to be mad… or sleeping," she sniffled, trying to stop her tears.

"He's, uh, just sleeping, Katie," Jake immediately informed her, as he tried to take note of any other injuries that his brother had. _A gash on your forehead, bruises on your arm, your left leg appears to be crushed, and you have blood dripping down your left cheek, which means that you have another injury that I can't see. _"But can you help me with something?" he asked.

"I dunno," Katie admitted. "With what?"

"I need you to look at Lucy for me, and tell me what you see. It'll be like a game, okay?" he asked.

"'Kay," Katie agreed, as she twisted her head so that she could stare up at her sister's body. "I see long brown hair, a blue shirt, white shorts—"

"No," Jake growled at her in frustration.

Katie immediately started crying, sticking her thumb back into her mouth. _Jake is mad at me, I can't do anything right, and I want Mr. Peanut!_

Jake bit his lip, closing his eyes. _Jesus Christ, will you just calm down? She's only four years old, and she's just as scared as you are. You need to take a deep breath, and you need to have some more patience with her._ "I'm—I'm sorry, Katie," he finally said, clearing his throat. "I'm just scared, okay?"

"You are?" Katie asked, sniffling, as she tried to slow her tears down.

"Uh-huh. But I need you to be a big girl, and I need you to tell me if Lucy looks hurt."

"'Kay," Katie once again agreed, as she looked at her sister. "She has blood on her face, and," she narrowed her eyes, trying to study her sister's body. "And I see something sticking out of her arm… I don't have anything sticking out of my own arm, though," she stared at herself in puzzlement. "So what is that, Jake?"

Jake's eyes rose in horror. _It's either a bone, or it's something from the outside._

"Is her window still there?" he asked his little sister.

"Nuh-uh," Katie whispered. "And I'm getting wet. I don't wanna get wet, Jake."

"Help!" Jake suddenly started to yell.

Katie's eyes widened in fear, as she covered her ears in order to get away from not only the thunder and the rain, but from her brother's screaming, as well.

"Help!" he screamed again. "Please! Somebody help us!"

Up on the road, Grissom anxiously rubbed his beard, his eyes darting over the wreckage just fifty feet below him. Immediately pulling out his cell phone, and dialing 9-1-1, he attempted to get through to someone, frowning in frustration when the phone just died.

Cupping his hands around his mouth in order to amplify his voice, Grissom took one more step toward the edge of the embankment, leaning over. "Hello down there! Is anyone hurt?"

Jake opened his eyes wide, trying to twist his head so that he could peer out of his half-shattered window. "Yes, we're hurt! Please, Mister, you have to help us!"

Grissom glanced down the steep hill, trying to formulate a plan. "How many of you are there?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"There's four of us, Mister," Jake replied. "But my older brother is unconscious, and I don't know about my older sister. My younger sister is okay, I think," he added.

Grissom nodded, hunkering down beside the top of the road. "What's your name, Son?" he asked.

"Jake, and my little sister's name is Katie. My older brother's name is Bobby, and my older sister's name is Lucy. Please, can you help us? Can you call 9-1-1?"

"I've already tried that," Grissom shook his head no. "The storm is interfering with my cell phone's reception."

"Jake, tell him about the Boogeyman!" Katie begged. "Tell him that he has to hurry, or the Boogeyman will come and get us!"

Grissom raised an eyebrow, still studying the car. _Boogeyman? If she still believes in the Boogeyman, then she must be young. _"The Boogeyman doesn't exist," he calmly called down to the car. "That is the least of your worries."

Sniffling, Katie tried to look up past her sister's limp body, attempting to stare at Grissom. "And Mr. Peanut is gone! I dunno where he is, and I want him!" she added, as fresh tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"Shut up about the bear!" Jake again yelled at her.

"We'll find… Mr. Peanut," Grissom tried to assure her, starting to stand up. "But first, I want to get you out of that car. I'll be right back."

"No!" Katie suddenly started to shriek. "Don't leave us, please!" she wailed, once again trying to claw her way out of the seatbelt.

Grissom froze, not sure what to do. _I'm really not equipped to deal with children right now_, he told himself. _I'm not good with them, and this is not a good idea. _Taking a deep breath, he tried to come up with a response to make Katie feel better. "I'm not leaving you," he finally told her. "I just have to go to my car, okay? I'm a scientist of sorts, and I have tools in the back of my vehicle. I'm going to try to help you, but I need to go get some equipment. Okay…?" he asked, waiting for Katie's answer.

"'Kay,'" she softly told Grissom, before sticking her thumb back in her mouth.

"But please, hurry," Jake spoke up. "The rain won't let up, and I'm pretty sure that this car will fill up in no time."

"Are you stuck in your seatbelts? Or can you move?" Grissom asked.

"I don't know," Jake replied. "We haven't tried, but the car is on its side. We'll have to crawl out, and I think that my leg is broken," he admitted.

"And Mr. Peanut doesn't know how to crawl out," Katie added. "He's gonna need some help, once you find him."

"I'll do my best," Grissom calmly told the children. "Just hold on, and I'll be right back."

"Jake, I don't want him to leave," Katie sniffled, trying to twist her head so that she could stare at her brother. "I'm scared!"

"Me, too, Katie," he replied. "Me, too."

Back up on the main road, Grissom quickly walked to his Denali, climbing in. Once again pulling out his cell phone, he tried to call 9-1-1, growling in frustration when his phone still wouldn't pick up a signal. _This isn't going to be good_, he thought to himself, as he got out of the car, and briskly walked around to the back. Quickly wiping the rain off of his face, he unlocked the trunk, rummaging around for some equipment. "Where'd you put the rope, Nicky?" he softly mumbled aloud. "Come on, I know it's got to be in here," he muttered to himself, frowning, as another thunder clap rumbled above his head. "This isn't going to be good," he repeated to himself, as he grabbed the rope in one hand, and a couple of flares in the other. "I need to get those kids out of that car, before the whole thing explodes… or before they drown."

Trudging back over to the edge of the embankment, Grissom knelt down, very carefully peering over the edge. "Are you kids okay?" he yelled out.

"Uh-huh," Katie sniffled, as more tears slid down her cheeks. "But I can't find Mr. Peanut, and the water is getting higher."

"Okay, hang on," Grissom told her. "I've got a rope, and I'm going to climb down to get you!"

"Hurry, Mister!" Jake shouted up at him. "The water is still filling up the car, and we can't move!"

"Hang on, Jake; I'm coming," Grissom repeated, trying to keep his voice calm and steady. "Just hang in there," he repeated, his eyes going wide as another tree fell directly across the already battered Saturn. "Are you kids okay?" he screamed, once the tree had finally settled. Standing up, and trying to find a tree to attach the rope to, he waited for a response. "Jake? Katie?" he frowned, as more silence met his query. "Kids? Hold on, I'm coming!"

---------------

TO BE CONTINUED 


	3. The Boogeyman to the Rescue

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter for you! I'm trying, really, I am! Just please try to be patient with me. School is a tad harder than I was expecting it to be! Once again, thank you to everyone who read and or/reviewed the previous chapter! Enjoy!

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.

**Title: **_The Boogeyman to the Rescue_

**Summary: **A raging storm, four trapped children, and an exploding vehicle. Will Grissom be able to save the day?

_---------------_

"Mr. Peanut, where are you?" Katie continued to sniffle, as she and her brother waited for Grissom to come back with the rope. "Where are you, Mr. Peanut? Mommy said that you would never leave my side. She said that you're very special, and that I'm very special, and that we can both do good things together, 'cause we're good!" Twisting her body around, she studied the ground of the car, trying to find her bear. "Jake," she started to sniffle even harder. "I can't find Mr. Peanut, and I want him!"

"Seriously, Katie, shut up about the bear, okay?" he hissed at her. Staring over at his brother's limp form for a moment, he frowned. _How dare you leave us! I can't deal with her alone! _Returning his attention to Katie, he cleared his throat. "Your bear is already dead, anyhow. Just leave him alone!" he lashed out at her in anger, instantly regretting the words the moment that they were out of his mouth.

"Wh-what?" Katie swallowed, her face paling. "Mr. Peanut is dead? Nuh-uh! Mommy said that he can never die!"

"Well, moms and dads lie!" Jake continued to torment his little sister. "And we're going to die, too!"

Katie immediately burst into tears, her breath catching in her throat, as she tried to find the words to express herself. "I don't wanna die, Jake!" she screamed. "'Kay? I'm sorry that I made you mad, but I don't wanna die!" Clawing at her seatbelt, Katie finally managed to unbuckle herself, falling against the window, which was still pressed tightly to the ground. Landing on her arm, she shrieked once more, before turning her face to look up at Jake. "I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die," she repeated over and over again. "Mr. Peanut, we need you! Where are you? You're not dead, so come out, please!" she sobbed.

Jake stared at his broken leg in frustration, cursing himself for the way that he had spoken to his baby sister. "It's okay, Katie," he finally mumbled to her. "I'm sorry, and—" he started to say, before he heard a loud crash coming from somewhere off to the side of the car.

"What is that?" Katie sobbed, cowering against the ground. " Lucy, you have to wake up now! I said so, 'kay?" she asked her older sister. "Why won't you move? I want you to move!"

Up in the front seat, Jake turned his head to stare out of the broken window, freezing in place as he saw what was going on. Trees were falling all around them, and the car was no longer a safe place to be. "If lightning strikes one of the trees near us," he mumbled under his breath. "It will light on fire, and it will fall on us… and that's bad."

"What's going to be bad, Jake?" Katie softly asked, reaching her arms up to her unconscious sister, and trying to pull herself up off of the ground. "I don't wanna die," she murmured. But before anyone had the chance to say anything else, another loud crack filled the air, and a tree came crashing down on top of their car, knocking it right-side up again. "Jake!" she wailed, as she threw her arms over her head in order to protect herself.

"Are you kids okay?" Grissom screamed from up above them, once the tree had finally settled on top of the roof of the car.

"Nuh-uh," Katie very quietly replied to him, too softly for him to actually hear her. "We're not okay, right, Jake?" But Jake, buried in the leaves of the fallen tree, could not respond to her.

"Jake? Katie?" Grissom's voice again called out.

"I want my Mommy," Katie sobbed. "Wake up, please!" she begged her three older siblings, jumping, as she heard more thunder rumbling from outside of the car. "I don't want you all to die! I have to find Mr. Peanut!"

"Kids? Hold on, I'm coming!" Grissom shouted once more, before scanning the ground around the embankment's edge. Immediately wiping the rain from his face, he glanced down, before tying one end of the rope to the tree that had previously fallen across the width of the road, and tossing the rest of the rope over the mini-cliff. Giving it a test tug to see if it would hold him, he quickly shuffled back over to the Denali, grabbing some extra rope, a knife, a flashlight, a couple of flares, and his cell phone. Sticking the rope, the knife, and the cell phone into his kit, he walked a short distance away from his vehicle, setting up the flares. Then, with one final sigh, he carefully shuffled over to the edge of the road, kneeling down beside his makeshift rope ladder.

"Mr. Peanut?" Katie tried again, pulling away from her sister for a moment, and trying to find her stuffed bear. "Where are you?" she whispered, jumping, as more thunder rumbled from just above the car.

Grabbing the now slick rope between both hands, Grissom turned around, and very carefully tried to walk down the muddy slope. Grunting with the physical effort of doing so, he tried to focus on his task, once again wishing that someone more physically fit was here to help him. "Jake? Katie?"

"Mr. Peanut?" Katie sniffled, crawling along the floor of the car by her sister's feet, and using her hands to search around. "I know you're here, and I know that you're still alive! Come out, it's okay! The Boogeyman won't get you," she assured her stuffed animal, although she herself was still worried that the monster would try to attack her and her siblings.

"I'm coming," Grissom took another deep breath, stopping for a moment, and very carefully looking over his shoulder, and down. Fifty feet was not that far down, but with the rain pelting his body, combined with the muddiness of the slope itself, he knew that it would still be very difficult to keep his footing.

"Really, no Boogeyman," Katie continued, wiping a few of her tears away, and managing to smear her sister's blood under her eyes. "Please? I need you!" she started to sob again, terrified with everything that was going on around her.

Grunting once more, Grissom tried to take another step down, accidentally slipping along the slope. "Shit!" he yelled, clutching the rope more tightly, and giving his feet the opportunity to find something to stand on. Groaning, and pressing himself against the side of the embankment, Grissom took one more deep breath, before continuing his journey downwards.

The moment that Grissom swore, Katie's head popped up. "It's the Boogeyman!" she anxiously announced to her siblings. "The Boogeyman is coming!" she repeated, scrambling to get into her sister's lap. "Don't hurt me," she whispered to the Boogeyman, staring out through the broken window, and trying to pinpoint where the voice had come from. "Please, don't hurt me!" she begged him.

Grissom stopped his descent for a moment, cocking his head toward the car. "Katie? Jake? Are either of you able to reply?" he calmly called out, trying to listen for any evidence of movement coming from within the battered Saturn. "If either of you can talk, please answer me," he tried again, raising his voice so that he could be heard over the storm.

"M-mister?" Katie asked, blinking her eyes as the rain continued to fall into the car. "Is that you, Mister?"

With a sudden sigh of relief, Grissom nodded. "It's me, Katie. My name is Gil, and I'm going to help you. Is Jake okay?"

"Nuh-uh," Katie quietly replied, her gaze now fixed on Grissom as he tried to climb the rest of the way down the slope. "And he told me that we were all gonna die, Mr. Gil! I don't wanna die, 'kay?" she asked him, her voice barely audible over the sill raging storm.

"I'm going to get you out of there, Katie," Grissom assured her, continuing to speak calmly as his feet finally touched down on the ground. Briskly shuffling toward the car, and setting his kit down a short distance away, he examined the Saturn, analyzing it for clues as to how he could safely get the children to safety. _The car is still hissing,_ he began his internal narrative. _So something is definitely going on with the engine. That would explain the loud bang that I heard earlier. Regardless of what is going on with the engine, the tree is resting on the roof of the car, and the windows look smashed to pieces. Glass is missing from both of the driver's side windows, and the roof appears to be fairly caved in. It's going to be difficult to get them out of there, but I need to do it—and fast._

"Are you sure that you're not the Boogeyman, Mr. Gil?" Katie again inquired, the tears still sliding down her cheeks. "Jake said that the Boogeyman lives in the woods, and I don't want him to get me. Are you sure that you aren't him?"

"I'm not the Boogeyman," Grissom quietly told her, peering in through the broken back driver's side window. _I'm definitely not equipped to deal with this; seriously, I don't know what to tell her! _Reaching a hand through the window, he gently pressed two of his fingers to Lucy's neck, feeling for a pulse. _Good girl, _he wanted to tell her. _You just keep on breathing, and I'm going to get you out of here_.

Swallowing her fear, Katie peered over at Grissom. "If you're—if you're not the Boogeyman, then why are you touching my sister?" she softly asked him, trying to wipe the tears out of her eyes.

"I just wanted to see if she was okay," Grissom quietly admitted. _God help me, I really don't know what I'm doing here!_ And then a flash of inspiration hit him. "Katie, would you like me to tell you a story while I get you and your siblings out of the car?"

Sniffling, Katie raised an eyebrow. "Don't forget Mr. Peanut," she reminded him. And then, "What kind of a story?"

"Okay about Mr. Peanut, and the story is about a spider," Grissom cautiously told her.

"I don't like spiders, though!" she told him, trying to settle back against her seat.

Moving to the front of the car, Grissom stuck his hand through the broken front driver's side window, feeling for Bobby's pulse. _Come on, pulse, where are you? Beat, heart! Damn you! _"But this is a very special spider," he calmly spoke up, his tone of voice not betraying how panicked he truly felt. _You have to have a pulse; you have to._

"Ohh!" Katie sniffled. "'Kay, what story is it?"

"It's called _Charlotte's Web_," Grissom replied, relief flooding his voice when he finally felt Bobby's pulse, as weak as it was. "It's called _Charlotte's Web_, and it's about a spider that does everything in her power to save a pig."

"Really?" Katie asked, trying to patiently wait for Grissom to do something to get them out of the car.

"Yes, and it goes like this," he began his tale, as he moved around to the passenger side of the car, trying to glance through the window in order to get to Jake. "Once upon a time, there was a spider named Charlotte," he adlibbed the book.

"And a bear named Mr. Peanut?" Katie interrupted him, before sticking her thumb in her mouth.

"Not in this story," Grissom couldn't help but chuckle, as he tried to open Jake's door. _Too damaged. Great. _"So once upon a time, there was a spider named Charlotte, who lived out in a very big barn."

"Why did she live out in the barn?" Katie again jumped in.

"Uh," Grissom rubbed his beard. "Because she liked to be around the animals, and the people did not want her in the farm house."

"Oh," Katie mused, following Grissom's movements through her dirt covered window. "But why not?"

Grissom bit his tongue, before taking a deep breath. _Just play along with her; that's what Catherine would tell you to do. "_Because the people were afraid of her," he shrugged, before reaching for the handle just outside of her door. Giving it a gentle tug, he tried to budge it.

"I hate spiders," Katie admitted.

"Oh, really?" Grissom asked, stopping for a moment in puzzlement. "Why?"

"'Cause they bite, silly!" she told him.

"You would like my girlfriend, then," Grissom dryly informed her, as he pulled harder on the door handle. "She doesn't like bugs, either, but she puts up with them, just for me."

Before Katie had the chance to reply to him, however, the Saturn made another loud popping noise, as the hood suddenly sparked.

"What's happening?" Katie screamed, as she saw smoke starting to spiral out of the front end of the car. "Is it the Boogeyman?" she asked Grissom, the terror evident in her voice.

"No," he told her. _It's worse. Much, much worse. _"I'm going to get you of there, Katie, but you have to be brave for me, okay? Can you do that?"

"If we can find Mr. Peanut, then uh-huh, I can be brave," she whispered in fear. "But I need Mr. Peanut!"

---------------

TO BE CONTINUED 


	4. Mr Peanut

**A/N: **Thanks yet again, for reading and/or reviewing this fic! I hope you like the next chapter!

---------------

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.

**Title: **_Mr. Peanut_

**Summary: **A raging storm, four trapped children, and an exploding vehicle. Will Grissom be able to save the day?

_---------------_

Grissom blinked at Katie, before standing up, and frowning. _How am I going to find this bear?_ He thought to himself. _And more importantly, how am I going to get these kids out of the car, before it explodes? If I don't do it soon, then there won't be any kids left to actually rescue._

"Mr. Gil?" Katie nervously asked, trying to push open her door. "Where did you go, Mr. Gil?" she frowned, trying not to jump, as another thunder clap seemed to rumble directly over her head. "Are you there? Where did you go?" she repeated her question, sniffling, as the rain continued to pelt the broken car, and the wind continued to rustle and whoosh through the surrounding trees.

"Huh?" Grissom snapped to attention, wiping the ice-cold water off of his face. "I'm right here, Katie; but I'm thinking." _I'm thinking about how to save all of your lives, as a matter-of-fact._

"Oh," she trailed off, biting her lip. "Are you thinking about Mr. Peanut? I'm thinking about Mr. Peanut," she informed him. "Jake said that he's dead, but I know that he isn't; Mommy said that Mr. Peanut can never die. Do you think that my Mommy is right?" she swallowed, waiting for Grissom to reassure her of the fact that her bear was going to be just fine.

Grissom nodded, barely paying attention to the young girl's words, lost in his own thoughts. "Well, your Mommy is a very smart woman," he finally replied, glancing up as he heard another tree fall in the distance. "And Mr. Peanut is very much alive, I'm sure."

"Really?" Katie brightly asked, her tone of voice instantly sounding more hopeful.

Ignoring her question for a moment, Grissom cleared his throat, before sighing. "Katie, we need to do this fast, okay?" he anxiously asked her. "Can you stand up and move around a little bit?"

"Uh-huh!" she told him, standing up on her feet, and looking through the dirty window at him. "See, Mr. Gil?"

"I see that," Grissom quietly replied, rubbing his beard in anxiety. "Do you see Mr. Peanut anywhere in the car?" he then asked, trying to keep his voice calm for Katie's sake.

Scrunching up her face, the four-year-old girl bit her lip. "I don't think so," she frowned. "I don't think that he's under the seat, either. Do you think that the Boogeyman has him?" she asked, her eyes widening in fear.

As another tree fell in the distance, Grissom tried not to jump. "We have to get out of here, Katie," he told her, desperation filtering into his voice for one of the first times of the evening. "Mr. Peanut will have to wait until later. I need you to climb across your sister, to get to the broken window. Now!"

"Nuh-uh!" Katie immediately shouted, moving her head from side to side. "Not without Mr. Peanut! Daddy says that good people don't leave their friends behind, and he's the bestest friend that I have in the whole-wide-world! He's even more bestest than Jake or Bobby!"

Grissom tightly closed his eyes, attempting to swallow his nerves. _But if I don't get you out of here soon, I'll be leaving YOU behind!_

"Mr. Gil?" Katie softly asked, blinking her tears away. "I think that he flew out of the window. I was holding him, and then I jumped when the car went over the cliff. What if he's outside, right now? I think that he's probably scared, and wet, and cold, and—"

"That's fine, Katie. I'll look outside of the car, and you look inside," Grissom started to panic, flicking on his flashlight, and panning the ground with it. _What would Sara do in this situation? What would Catherine do? Would they just yank her out of the car? We don't have time right now to be looking for her bear! This car could explode at any moment! _Stepping away from the Saturn for a second, Grissom sighed, as he knelt over, looking for clues as to where Mr. Peanut could possibly be. _This thing could be anywhere! _He thought to himself, before straightening up once again. _It could be in a tree, it could be in a bush, hell, it could even be under the car itself! Unless,_ he mused, raising an eyebrow. "Katie?" he suddenly called out.

"Did you find him? Did you find him? Did you find him?" Katie anxiously asked Grissom.

"No, but when do you think that you let go of him? Just after you went over the cliff? Or after you were already down on the ground?"

"Um," she screwed her face up in thought. "I think that I lost him before we hit the ground."

Grissom nodded, as he took another couple of steps away from the car. _So, if she had the bear at the top of the hill, but not at the bottom, then the search area is going to be even more limited than I first thought_. Glancing at the embankment, and then at the final resting location of the car, Grissom took a deep breath. _Factoring in the speed of the car as it flew over the cliff, and the arc that it took to have landed where it did, then the bear has to be fairly close to the base of the cliff._

Looking down at the flooded ground around his feet, Grissom slowly made his way back over to the cliff, keeping his eyes open for any signs of a bear. "Katie? What color is Mr. Peanut?" he then asked. _Say purple, or even yellow. Just don't say brown!_

"He's brown, Mr. Gil," Katie replied. "Do you see him yet?"

"Not yet," he mumbled, as another ten, very important seconds, ticked by. Scanning the ground with his flashlight, Grissom blinked, as he moved toward the left-hand side of the embankment. _The driver's side windows are broken, which means that the bear must have fallen out on that side. It has to be here; please, just find it, before it's too late!_

All of a sudden, another loud crack filled the air, as a second tree fell dangerously close to the car. "Mr. Gil?" Katie suddenly shouted. "I wanna get out of here!" she sniffled, before breaking out into sobs. "I love Mr. Peanut, but I don't wanna die, too!"

Grissom nodded, before turning around on his heels, and attempting to make his way back to the car. Five feet away from the embankment, however, and on his way back to Katie and her siblings, Grissom's flashlight fell on something glittery. Squinting his eyes in order to try to get a better look at the object, he let out a snort of surprise, as he realized that the glint was actually the bead from one of Mr. Peanut's eyes. Reaching down, and quickly grabbing the muddy stuffed animal, Grissom shuffled back to the car, clearing his throat. "Katie, can you help me?" he asked, peering through the back driver's side window at her.

"Uh-huh," she continued to sob, terrified over the storm, and sad that she was going to single-handedly be responsible for Mr. Peanut's death.

"I have a little friend here who needs some help," he quietly and calmly said, very carefully sticking his hand through the broken window, and tossing Mr. Peanut over to Katie. "Can you give him a hand, please?" he asked. _That was good! That was something that Catherine or Sara would have said and done… I think!_

Katie sniffled, blinking once, and then twice, and then a third time. "Mr. Peanut?" she whispered, reaching for the bear, and pulling him tightly to her chest. "Mr. Peanut, it's you!" she yelled in relief. "Thank you, Mr. Gil!"

"Don't thank me yet, Katie, because now we need to get you out of there."

"But Mr. Peanut can help us now!" she happily told him. "He's a special bear, 'member?"

"I remember," Grissom softly said. _And we could really use some special help right about now_, he mused, glancing at Katie, followed by her three unconscious siblings, and then at the smoke still pouring out of the Saturn's hood. "Let's get you out of there!" he hurriedly added, as something at the front of the car made a pop, sizzle, and crackle noise. "Let's get you out of there _now!_"

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TO BE CONTINUED 


	5. It Gets Worse

**A/N: **Thank you again to everyone who is reading and/or reviewing this fic! I hope you enjoy the next chapter! I don't think there will be much more after this one!

---------------

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.

**Title: **_It Gets Worse_

**Summary: **A raging storm, four trapped children, and an exploding vehicle. Will Grissom be able to save the day?

_---------------_

"What do we have to do, Mr. Peanut?" Katie anxiously asked her stuffed bear, holding him up to her ear, and waiting for him to reply to her. When Mr. Peanut refused to answer her back, Katie just assumed that she couldn't hear him, because he was speaking too softly. "What was that? I didn't hear you," she mumbled pulling him closer to her ear.

"Katie," Grissom spoke up, trying to get her attention. "I need you to listen to me, okay?" he quietly asked her, peering in through the crushed and broken driver's side window.

"And Mr. Peanut," she reminded him. "Mommy always says that two heads are better than one, whatever that means, so if Mr. Peanut has a head, and I have a head, then we have two heads," she pointed out. "And two is better than one. I think."

"Fine," Grissom immediately replied. "Then I need you and Mr. Peanut to listen to me. Can you do that?"

"Uh-huh!" Katie whispered, wiping the remnants of her tears away. Holding Mr. Peanut up to her ear, she nodded. "He says 'uh-huh,' too."

"Okay," Grissom calmly told her. "Then I need you—" Katie started to open her mouth. "—And Mr. Peanut," he continued, "to crawl toward me. Here's what's going to happen. You can't squeeze through this window, because it's too smashed," he told her.

"Smooshed!" Katie eagerly corrected him.

"It's too… smooshed," Grissom nodded at her. "So you and your siblings all need to come out through the passenger side. The only problem, is that both of the doors on that side of the car are stuck shut, so—"

"Mr. Peanut just said that you have to break the windows," Katie nervously smiled up at Grissom.

"That's right, honey," he sighed, rubbing his beard. _If we keep going at this rate, I'll never you get you all out of there in one piece. _"I'm going to have to break the windows, so I want you and Mr. Peanut to sit as far away from the passenger side as you can, so that I can break the windows, without hurting you. Do you know how to play hide-and-go-seek?" he then asked.

"Uh-huh! Jake plays that all the time with me, and I'm such a good hider," she grinned. "I'm so good, that he can never find me! Sometimes he looks _all_ day long for me, but me and Mr. Peanut hide in the bestest places!"

_Or perhaps Jake just tries to get rid of you_, Grissom couldn't help but think. _Sometimes, siblings can be very cruel. _ "Good," he nodded at her. "Then when you sit on your sister's lap, I want you to cover up your face, as if you are going to be the seeker. In fact," he continued, "Why don't you have Mr. Peanut cover up your face, and then you can cover up his, by pressing your face against the side of the car?" he suggested.

"Yeah, that's a good idea!" Katie bobbed her head up and down in agreement, already crawling toward her sister's prone body. Moving into her lap, and pressing herself against the window, she peered up at Grissom. "You're wet," she pointed out, blinking, as the rain continued to pour into the car.

"Yes, I am," Grissom frowned. "Now cover your eyes."

"'Kay!" she chuckled, as she pressed Mr. Peanut to her eyes, and then rested her head against the side of the car, holding Mr. Peanut in place. "Now I'll start counting, Mr. Gil, and then I'll come get you!" she grinned.

"Okay," Grissom mumbled, as he quickly moved around to the passenger side of the car, looking for something to break the window with. _If the roof wasn't so caved in, and if the doors weren't so dented, I could just open up the doors naturally. I hope that I don't hurt these kids_, he thought to himself, as he found a suitably heavy tree branch. "Okay, Katie," he loudly spoke up. "I'm going to break the window on the count of three. You're going to hear a really loud banging noise, and then breaking glass. No matter what happens, keep your face down. Do you understand me?" he asked her, just to make sure.

"'Kay, Mr. Gil! Ready!"

Grissom closed his eyes for a moment to collect his thoughts, before realizing that breaking the glass could potentially cut his hands. Setting the branch down for a moment, he immediately tore off his dress shirt, wrapping it around the fist that that would be holding the branch. Glancing down at his now dirty undershirt, he took a deep breath, preparing himself for what was to come. "Okay, on the count of three," Grissom shouted. "One," he pulled the tree branch back. "Two," he gripped it more tightly. "Three!" he yelled, as he connected the tree branch with the window. Cringing at the sound of the breaking glass, he peered in through the now shattered backseat window. "Are you okay, Katie?" he instantly questioned her.

"I'm scared!" she screamed back, tightly clutching Mr. Peanut to her face.

"I know you are, but I'm not done yet, honey," he quietly told her, staring at the smoke still pouring out of the engine. Wiping the rain out of his eyes with his forearm, he frowned. "Keep your face covered, until I tell you that it's okay to come toward me. Do you understand?"

"Uh-huh," Katie sniffled, this time burying her head against her sister's shoulder.

_I have to clear the glass away_, he thought to himself, not wasting any time. "Here I go, Katie," he warned her, as he immediately shoved the tree branch back into the window, knocking the rest of the glass out of the way, and creating a hole large enough for at least Katie to fit through. "Okay, honey," he quietly said, unwrapping the shirt from his arm, and throwing it down on the ground for a moment. "I need you to crawl toward me, and I need you to do it fast."

"I can pick my head up now?" she questioned Grissom, cracking an eye open, and staring at him.

"Yes, Katie, but I need you to move quickly," he repeated, holding his arms out toward her, and throwing a glance at the smoke still spiraling out of the front of the car. "Come on!" he added, trying to hide how panicked he truly felt.

Katie bit her lip, looking up at Lucy. "But what about my sister?" she whispered.

"Katie, move it, now!" Grissom finally just yelled at her, out of absolute desperation. "I'll come back for her and your brothers in a moment, but you need to come here, now!"

The moment that Grissom screamed at her, Katie's lower lip began to quiver, tears filling up in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Mr. Gil," she whimpered, starting to sob.

"Katie, please," Grissom tried again, lowering his voice, and taking a deep breath to steady his nerves. "Crawl toward me; it's okay, but crawl toward me."

Although she was still crying, Katie did as he asked of her, crawling across the back seat to the passenger side of the car. "Now what…?" she asked him, staring at the window.

Without saying a word, Grissom very carefully reached his arms into the car, yanking her right off of the seat.

"Mr. Peanut!" Katie shrieked, as Grissom wrapped his arms tightly around her, starting to move away from the smoking vehicle. "We left Mr. Peanut!"

"I'll go back for him later," Grissom told her, jogging back toward the embankment. "But right now, I need to get the rest of your family out, first," he added, as he set her down at the very base of the hill. Kneeling down beside her, he raised an eyebrow. "I need you to stay here for me, okay, Katie?" he asked.

"Nuh-uh, I want Mr. Peanut!" she wailed, staring at the car, which was now a fair distance away from them. "And Bobby, and Lucy, and Jake," she added, before flinging her arms around Grissom's neck in absolute terror.

Grissom awkwardly wrapped his arms around the little girl, gently patting her back. "It'll be okay, honey," he whispered to her, clearing his throat. "But I still need you to be brave for me. I'm going to go back to the car to get your brothers and sister, but I need you to stay here."

"And Mr. Peanut?" she sniffled, trying to brush the rain and tears off of her face.

"Of course," Grissom flashed her the smallest of smiles. "And Mr. Peanut, too. Can you stay here for me, though?"

"Uh-huh," Katie whispered, as she hunkered down on the ground. "I'll stay right here, as long as you don't forget about me. I'm still scared, Mr. Gil," she admitted, hiccupping.

"I know you're still scared," Grissom acknowledged her. "But this will all be over soon enough."

"'Kay…" Katie trailed off, rubbing her runny nose.

With one final nod to Katie, Grissom turned around, immediately jogging back toward the Saturn. "How am I going to get them out of here?" he mumbled to himself, glancing at the totaled car. Rubbing his beard in thought, he leaned through the back passenger side window of the car, glancing at Lucy. "I'm not supposed to move you," he muttered under his breath. "But this car could explode at any moment!"

"Mr. Gil?" Katie called out, watching him from beside the embankment.

Ignoring Katie, and stretching his arms out as far as he could, Grissom groaned, when he was just shy of Lucy's body. "Damn it," he quietly hissed to himself, glancing through the window. _I'm going to need to get in there, in order to get you out_. Very carefully climbing through the window itself, Grissom moved far enough in, so that only his legs were hanging out of the window. Grunting, he once again stretched his arms out as far as he could, until he was able to unbuckle Lucy from her seatbelt. Then, grabbing one of her arms, he gently tugged her toward him, so that he could get a better grasp on her body, without hurting her any further.

"Mr. Gil?" Katie tried again, taking a couple of steps back toward the car. "What are you doing?"

"Come on, Lucy," Grissom mumbled, as he managed to pull her close enough to him so that he could safely wrap an arm around her waist. Yanking her the rest of the way back toward the passenger-side window, he slid his body out, before reaching back into the car, and pulling her up and through the window, as well. "I'm sorry," he whispered to her, as he repositioned his hands underneath her armpits, starting to drag her back to the embankment. "I'm sorry," he repeated, as he finally scooped her up into his arms, carrying her through the rain and the mud to safety.

"Lucy!" Katie screamed, running to her sister's side the moment that Grissom set her down. "Lucy!" she grinned, throwing her arms around her sister. Realizing that Lucy had yet to say a word, she looked up at Grissom, sniffling. "Is she okay…?" she softly asked him, tears once again threatening to slide down her cheeks.

"I don't know, honey," Grissom quietly replied. "But she's better off here than in the car," he finally admitted.

Lucy slowly nodded her understanding, glancing over at the car. "Mr. Gil…?" she whispered, rubbing her eyes. "I don't think that that's supposed to be there!" she informed him.

When Grissom turned around, he couldn't help but swear under his breath. "Stay here, and don't you _dare_ move a muscle!" he yelled at Katie, as he took off toward the Saturn, which was now giving off flames.

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TO BE CONTINUED 


	6. 911

**A/N: **Okay, first of all, my apologies for taking so long to get this chapter up. Things have been kind of on the busy side. In any event, thank you to those people who have been reading and/or reviewing. In particular, thank you to: **leddy** (I can't believe he kept his cool for as long as he did!), **BabyGrissom **(I'm not quitting on this story, don't you worry about it!), **L.C. **(ahh, you're right about Saturns! I have one, so I should have remembered it. I have to go back and add more details, though, because in my brain, the roof of the car is smashed from a tree falling on it. I'm not sure that I ever actually wrote that, though), **odeepblue** (thanks for reading), and **anneruhland** (you're right: it can be hard to see kids in danger. Hopefully everything will work on!). Again, thank you to all of your support. I hope that you enjoy this chapter, as well!

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.

**Title: **_911_

**Summary: **A raging storm, four trapped children, and an exploding vehicle. Will Grissom be able to save the day?

_---------------_

Katie stood up, her tear-stained gaze following Grissom as he ran back across the sopping-wet forest floor, in order to reach the Saturn. "Save them, Mr. Gil," she whispered, before kneeling back down beside her sister, and gently pushing on Lucy's shoulder. "And you wake up, right now. Mommy said that it isn't good to take naps in the middle of the day, so wake up," she murmured, as the tears continued to slide down her cheeks.

Taking a deep breath, Grissom jogged back toward the Saturn, staying low to the ground, and analyzing the situation as he moved forward. The car was about to explode, that much was for sure. But because the car was going to explode, he had to act fast. He could no longer calmly break the window, as he had done with Katie; he had to smash the two front windows, regardless of the fact that Jake and Bobby had no way of protecting themselves against the flying glass. Glancing at the flames starting to spiral out of the hood, Grissom realized that if he waited any longer, there would be no boys left to actually rescue. There would be no need, because they would be dead.

Approaching the vehicle, Grissom briefly wiped the water from his forehead, picking up the nearest heavy tree branch. Frowning at the mud-slicked weapon now securely held in his hand, and then at the tree on top of the Saturn which was hindering his ability to safely and effectively get the children out of the car, he sighed, walking right up to the passenger-side window. "Benjamin Franklin once said: 'Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of,'" he told himself. "And Franklin is right. If these kids have any hope of surviving—" he trailed off, immediately pulling the tree branch back. "Then now is the time to act!"

Without any more hesitation, Grissom lowered his head, closed his eyes, and swung the tree branch as hard as he could toward the window. At the sound of breaking glass mixing with the remnants of the thunder and lightning, he cracked an eye open, using the branch to knock away the rest of the class. "Jake?" he asked, reaching a hand through the now empty window, and lightly shaking the boy. When he did not get a response, Grissom reached into the car with both hands, yanking Jake out.

Once Jake was out of the car, Grissom slipped his arms underneath the boy's armpits, walking backward, and dragging him through the mud to a safe distance away from the car. "Almost there," he whispered to Jake, even though he understood that the thirteen year old was unconscious, and thus unable to hear him. "I've got you, and you're going to be okay." _Well,_ he thought to himself. _You're not going to blow up right along with the car, I should say._

"Mr. Gil?" Katie screamed over the noise of the rain. "Is Jake okay?" she asked, once again standing up, and moving toward Grissom and her brother. "Is he gonna wake up?" she continued, moving a little bit more quickly toward her sibling.

"I _said_," Grissom started to yell at Katie out of desperation. "Do _not _move a muscle! Get back to your sister, and _stay _there!" he added, ignoring Katie's tears, and once again returning his attention to Jake. _I don't have the luxury of time in which to deal with you and your issues right now_, he thought to himself, frowning. _So sit down, and stay there!_

"Lucy? Why is Mr. Gil being so mean?" she asked her sister, her bottom lip starting to quiver, as she sat back down on the ground, drawing her knees up to her chest. "I just wanted to know if Jake was okay," she sniffled, trying to wipe the rain and tears off of her face, but only succeeding in smearing blood and dirt under her eyes.

Running back to the Saturn, Grissom swallowed, as he saw the flames gaining more height... and heat. The rain wasn't enough to douse the fire, and he understood that the car could literally blow up at any moment. "It's now or never," he muttered to himself, jogging around to the driver's side of the car, and picking up another tree branch. Ready to smash through the window, as he had with the other side, he frowned, noticing that Bobby's head was actually leaning against the window. "Shit!" Grissom yelled, realizing that he could hurt Bobby even more, if he broke the window right now.

Shuffling around the back side of the car, Grissom made his way to the front passenger side window, glancing through the hole. Reaching in with both arms, he unbuckled Bobby's seatbelt, trying to pull him toward himself. "Shit!" he muttered again, when he couldn't turn the seventeen year old enough to pull him up and over the center console. "But at least you're no longer propped up against the window," he said aloud, running back around the car to the driver's side. Picking up the tree branch, Grissom once again lowered his head, swinging at the window with all of his strength.

"Mr. Gil! The fire is getting higher and higher!" Katie screamed in between her sobs. "Please, hurry! And don't forget Mr. Peanut!"

Grissom ignored her, as he knocked the remainder of the glass away from the window, tossing the tree branch aside. "Okay, Bobby, let's get you out of there," he tersely told the teenager, reaching through the window, and yanking him up and out of the car. Shuffling backwards, Grissom pulled Bobby toward the embankment, grunting with the effort of carrying him.

"Look, Mr. Gil!" Katie suddenly shouted out in excitement, standing up, and pointing toward the sky. "The rain is stopping!" she smiled at him. "The Boogeyman doesn't like the sunlight, so maybe we'll be safe!" she happily announced, her tears slowly subsiding.

Grissom stopped to look toward the sky for a moment, inwardly cheering. _If the rain has stopped, then it might be possible to get a message through to the 911 center, or even to Catherine. It's possible that my cell phone will connect_, he mused, as he continued to carry Bobby toward the embankment, finally setting him down just next to Lucy. Glancing over at Katie for the briefest of moments, he turned around, jogging back over to Jake's prone body.

"Don't forget Mr. Peanut!" Katie reminded him, looking down at her older brother. Lightly shaking his shoulder, she stared at him. "Wake up," she mumbled. "It isn't nice to sleep during the day!" she informed him.

"Mr. Peanut?" Grissom grumbled. "I don't think so; Jake is my first priority here," he said aloud, as he stooped down to grab the boy. Scooping him up into his arms, he carried him back over to the embankment, setting him down beside Bobby. "Mr. Peanut is going to have to stay where he is," he told Katie, blinking at her. "I'm sorry, but it isn't safe for me to go back to the car."

"You mean," Katie sniffled, looking up at Grissom. "You mean that you're going to let him die?"

"I don't have a choice," Grissom calmly replied, fishing in his pants pocket for his cell phone.

"We always have choices!" Katie yelled at him, suddenly leaping to her feet, and moving back toward the car. "Mr. Peanut, I'm coming for you!" she screamed.

"Katie!" Grissom yelled, following her. Easily catching up to her, he tightly wrapped his arms around her body, stopping her in mid-stride. "I told you to stay put!" he angrily reminded her, turning around, and returning her to the embankment, not yet releasing his hold on her.

"But I can't live without Mr. Peanut," Katie cried, struggling against Grissom's arms to go back for her stuffed animal. "He's afraid of smoke and fire, Mr. Gil! He keeps me safe, so now it's my turn to keep him safe. Please, I don't want him to die! _Please!_" she sobbed, the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Glancing at the cell phone in his pocket, Grissom swallowed. _This is ridiculous; this is absolutely and utterly ridiculous, not to mention unsafe. I can't believe that you're actually going to do this. _"Okay," he finally sighed in agreement. "Okay." _I can't believe that I am risking my life for a toy.._

"I'm going to go get Mr. Peanut for you, but I need you to stay here. Can you do that for me, Katie?"

"Uh-huh," Katie nodded, watching Grissom as he flipped open his phone, and dialed 911. "What're you doing?" she curiously asked him.

"Getting us some help," he calmly replied, waiting for someone to answer him. Moments later, a 911 operator picked up the phone, and Grissom gave an audible sigh of relief. "This is Gil Grissom, with the Las Vegas Crime Lab," he immediately stated. "I'm on Mountain Pass Road, and I am trying to assist the passengers of a totaled vehicle. I need medical help, and I need it now!"

"Please—" the voice cut off for a moment, overridden with static. "—that?" the person requested.

"I'm on Mountain Pass Road," Grissom repeated, "and I need a few ambulances, immediately!" he stated, trying to hide his growing nervousness. All of a sudden, the phone went dead, leaving a very stunned and frustrated Gil Grissom. "Damn it," he muttered under his breath, handing the phone to Katie. "The operator hung up. Stay here," he ordered her, taking off back toward the car at a quick jog. _With any luck, some part of that message got through, and someone will be able to help us… before it's too late. God, I still have to find a way of getting these kids up the embankment, too, but I don't know how I am going to do that just yet!_ Frowning, Grissom sighed. _And I still can't believe that I am going back for this damned bear, because that stuffed animal is the least of our worries right now_.

Katie very quietly nodded, as she moved closer to her sister, once again sitting down on the ground. Glancing down at the phone held loosely in her hand, she was about to tell Grissom that he had to hurry, before jumping in surprise. "It's… moving," she whispered to herself, studying the phone that seemed to be vibrating. Flipping it open in puzzlement, she held it up to her ear.

"Gil? Where are you?" Catherine's anxious voice immediately asked through the phone. "You should have been home hours ago!"

"… Hello?" Katie softly spoke up, blinking.

"Hello?" Catherine frowned in surprise. "Who is this? Do I have the right phone?"

"I'm Katie," Katie replied. "And I dunno! This is Mr. Gil's phone, I think," she informed Catherine. "But he's busy right now," she added, drawing her knees up to her chest, and wrapping her free arm around her legs. "He's trying to get Mr. Peanut out of my car, but my car is kinda on fire right now. He called 911, but the opera guy hung up on him."

Catherine took a deep breath, as she clutched her phone more tightly in her hand. _Not good; this is not good! _"Warrick?" Catherine yelled over her shoulder. "I need a trace on Gil's cell phone number, and I need it right now!"

"Hello?" Katie again asked, squinting, as she tried to get the other woman's attention. "Are you still there?" she sniffled.

"Yes, I'm here," Catherine replied, pressing the phone tightly to her ear. "Katie, my name is Cath, and I'm going to help you, okay?" she asked.

"'Kay! But Mr. Gil is already helping us," she informed Catherine.

"Do you know where you are, honey?"

"Uh-huh! I think so!" Katie grinned, pleased with herself for knowing the answer to the question.

"So… where are you?" Catherine softly prompted the little girl.

"We're at the bottom of a very big hill! Bobby, my older brother, crashed the car during the boomers and lightning! And then my other brother, Jake, told me that the Boogeyman lives in the forest, but you know what, Cath?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"What, honey?" _Keep her talking_, Catherine thought to herself. _We need time to trace the call_.

"It's not raining out here anymore, so the Boogeyman can't come and get us! And that's good, too, 'cause my sister, Lucy is sleeping right now. So are my brothers, though," she added, following Grissom's movements with her eyes. "If the Boogeyman came out of the woods, he'd be able to get them super-easy, and I don't want him to, 'cause I love them all. Even Jake, except he's really mean to me," she mumbled after a moment.

"I see. And where is… Mr. Gil right now?"

"He's getting Mr. Peanut out of the car, but I hope that he hurries," Katie whispered, still watching Grissom.

"Why is that, honey?" Catherine asked, swallowing.

yell

"I already told you, silly!" Katie rolled her eyes. "'Cause my car is on fire," she reminded Catherine.

All of a sudden, a large explosion filled Catherine's ears, followed by the sound of Katie shrieking. "Katie?" she shouted into the phone. "Katie? Are you there? Answer me, God damn it!" she yelled in panic, before the line went dead. "Shit! Please tell me that we got his location?" she screamed, immediately getting to her feet, and trying to locate Warrick.

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TO BE CONTINUED 


	7. The Crash Site

**A/N: **Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to read and/or reply to this story! I'm really glad that you all seem to be enjoying this! I apologize that it is taking me so long to update, but let's just say that classes are harder than I anticipated then being (actually, the two hour commute time each way is harder than I anticipated it being!). Special thanks goes out to **Mystical Panther **(I'm… still mean, I think!), **odeepblue **(as always, thanks for reading!), **RocketScientist **(I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you liked the last one!), **anneruhland **(I don't like reading WIPs, either! I get hooked, and then it takes awhile for the author to update. Mwahahaha…), **csi020gsr** (thanks for the cliffhanger compliment! I do enjoy a good cliffhanger… yeah, not really), **SilverDragon54 **(happy Thanksgiving, and thanks for reading!), **mari12345 **(I'm so glad that you are enjoying this story!), **stareagle **(my pleasure! Although I'm slow, I like this story a lot. I'm just glad that **RocketScientist **made a request for a story along these lines!), **Aruna Hart Joe Hardy's girl **(would I do that to Gris…? Hmm…)

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.

**Title: **_The Crash Site_

**Summary: **A raging storm, four trapped children, and an exploding vehicle. Will Grissom be able to save the day?

_---------------_

**The Lab**

"Warrick?" Catherine tried again, sprinting toward one of the smaller labs. "You better tell me that we got Gil's location!" she screamed.

Before Warrick had the chance to reply, however, Judy, the receptionist, ran toward Catherine. "We have a 911 call center operator on the phone for you," she immediately told the CSI. "It sounds urgent. I'll patch it through to the layout room," she added, pointing toward the closest lab.

Catherine nodded, briskly walking toward the lab, and immediately picking up the phone. "Hello?" she quickly asked.

"Ma'am, this is Steve Rogers at the 911 call center, and we just received a phone call from someone claiming to be a part of the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Do you currently have any employees out on the road?" he questioned her.

"Gil Grissom, the nightshift supervisor. I just spoke to someone named Katie on his cell phone," she told the operator, one hand on her hip as she stared at the ground. "And the little girl said that her car is on fire. You need to get someone out to his location immediately, understood?" she continued, trying to keep her voice calm. "I heard an explosion, and if the car _was _on fire—" she trailed off, not wanting to complete her thought.

"Well, see, that's the problem," the operator frowned. "We don't know where—"

"Here, Catherine," Warrick interrupted the phone conversation, anxiously shoving a piece of paper into her hand. "I'm going to pull the Denali around," he added, already running out of the door. Warrick didn't know if Catherine would allow them to try to help Grissom, but he wasn't going to wait around in order to find out. If Grissom was out there, and he was indeed in trouble, the nightshift was going to help him.

Glancing at the results of the phone trace, Catherine frowned. "He's on Mountain Pass Road, five miles from Pinebrook if you're coming from the East, and ten miles from Hollowbrook if you're coming from the West. I'm sending a team out there," she continued. "But you're going to need at least one ambulance, fire and rescue, and only God-knows what else."

"We'll send a crew out there right away," the operator replied. "But in the mean time, keep trying to get a hold of someone on his cell phone. Any information that we have about what is going on out there will better help us pre-assess the situation."

"Will do, Steve," Catherine nodded, before hanging up.

"Catherine?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow as he rushed toward her. "What's going on?"

"Gil ran into a situation on his way home from the conference," she answered his question, already on the move. "We got his location, but it will take fire and rescue a little while to get to him."

"What kind of trouble?" Nick asked, quickly following her through the hallway.

"I'm not sure," Catherine quietly replied. "But I heard an explosion over the phone when I was talking to the little girl that he was apparently trying to rescue, so the trouble is not good."

Nick let out a breath of air, running a nervous hand through his hair. "Does Sara know yet?"

"Do I know what yet?" Sara asked, coming up behind her two colleagues. "What's going on?"

Nick rubbed the back of his neck, staring down at the ground.

"There was an accident, Sara," Catherine cautiously informed her, still moving toward the lab's main doors.

"What kind of an accident?" Sara wanted to know, raising an eyebrow. Glancing at Nick's pale expression, and then at Catherine's grim face, she began to feel nervous. "What _kind _of an accident?" she repeated her question.

Nearing the door, Catherine glanced at Nick for a moment. "Go get more rope, flares, and medical supplies," she ordered him. "And grab Greg and Brass on the way. We could use the police escort," she frowned. "And I don't know if we'll be able to help, but plan for anything—just in case."

"Catherine, please just talk to me!" Sara anxiously said, the panic starting to show on her face. "What's going on?"

Opening the door for Sara, Catherine pointed toward the Denali, sighing. "Gil was driving home through the thunder storm," she quietly said. "And apparently, he came across a car in distress."

"And?" Sara prompted Catherine, climbing into the backseat of the vehicle.

Catherine cleared her throat, getting into the front seat of the car.

Before she could answer Sara's question, however, both Greg and Nick came barreling out of the lab's front doors, their arms loaded up with emergency supplies. "Pop the trunk, Bro!" Nick called out, as he and Greg approached the back of the Denali. Flinging open the trunk with his free hand, the two CSIs deposited their supplies in the trunk, before climbing into the back seat along with Sara. Moments later, Brass's car came around the corner of the parking lot, trailing behind a police car with its lights already flashing.

Staring at the police car, Sara's already fragile nerves slowly unraveled even more. "Catherine!" she screamed. "Damn it, just answer the fucking question!" she yelled in frustration. "What the hell is going on?"

Catherine turned around to look at Sara. "We don't know," she replied, trying to remain calm for Sara's sake, but feeling incredibly uneasy with the whole situation. "I called Gil's phone, and a little girl picked up the line. She said that he was getting something by the name of Mr. Peanut out of her car, except—" she trailed off.

"Except what?" Sara tentatively asked, not knowing if she really wanted to hear the answer.

"The girl said that her car was on fire, and then I heard an explosion," Catherine told Sara, letting her words hang in the air.

"Damn," Warrick whispered under his breath, as he pulled the Denali out onto the main road, following behind Brass and the police cruiser.

"But—" Sara's faced paled. "He wasn't in the car when it exploded, right?" she asked, shaking her head from side to side. "Of course he wasn't. Grissom is smarter than that; he wouldn't risk his life for some stupid stuffed animal."

Greg bit his lip, staring down at the ground. "Are you sure that you heard an explosion?" he asked Catherine.

"I know what a car exploding sounds like, Greg!" Catherine immediately snapped back, regretting the words the moment they were out of her mouth. Although she knew that it was an exploding car, Sara really didn't need that sort of confirmation.

"What about the girl?" Nick hesitantly spoke up. "Did she say anything else, after the explosion?"

Catherine slowly shook her head no. "The phone went dead," she explained. "But fire and rescue are on their way, and so are we. We'll get there." Picking up her cell phone, Catherine hit re-dial, once again trying to get a hold of either Grissom or the little girl. _One of them has to pick up_, she thought to herself.

---------------

**Mountain Pass Road**

"Mr. Gil? Where are you?" Katie sniffled, standing up, and anxiously bouncing from foot to foot. "There's too much fire, and I don't see you! Why aren't you talking to me? Talk to me!" she ordered him, taking a hesitant step toward the burning Saturn, trying to peer through all of the smoke in order to see him. "I'm scared," she whispered, trying to wipe her tears away with one of her sleeves. "I'm scared, and I wanna go home!" she wailed, as more tears began to sting her eyes, eventually sliding down her already wet cheeks.

"K-Katie…?" someone softly called out her name. "Katie, don't move, okay?"

Katie sniffled, looking around. "L-Lucy? Is that you?" she asked, her eyes widening as she recognized her sister's voice. Kneeling down beside her sister, she threw herself down on top of her, crying in earnest. "Lucy, are you really awake?" she wanted to know.

Lucy winced as Katie landed directly on top of her, biting her tongue so as not to yell at her little sister. "Please move," she whispered. "That hurts, Katie."

"I'm sorry," Katie swallowed, sitting up, and staring down at her sister. "But you're awake now! I don't know where Mr. Gil is, and I'm scared!" she informed the fifteen year old, glancing toward the Saturn. "Where did he go?"

"Who's Mr. Gil?" Lucy quietly asked, licking her dry and swollen lips. Trying to sit up, she groaned, as pain shot through her entire body. Very carefully lowering herself back down to the ground, she stared up at Katie, waiting for her to answer.

"He's the man who got us all out of the car! But he went back for Mr. Peanut," Katie continued, "And then the car blew up. Cath called, too, but then she went away. I'm scared, Lucy. Can we go home now? Please?"

"The car blew up?" Lucy worriedly asked, once again trying to sit up, in order to look around. "Where are Bobby and Jake?" she asked, licking her lips, and trying to clear her foggy mind. _Yeah, I can smell the smoke now. Shit, the car blew up!_

"Bobby and Jake are right there," Katie pointed. "But I don't see Mr. Gil, and it's so smoky over there, Lucy! I think I should go get him," she whispered, slowly crawling to her knees, and getting to her feet. Bouncing from foot to foot, Katie swallowed in uneasiness, as she continued to try to spot Grissom. "If that lady calls back, maybe everything will okay!" she tried to assure her sister, taking another step toward the burning car.

"Where's the cell phone, Katie?" Lucy asked her, still trying to get to her feet, but unable to do so.

"Um, I think I threw it," Katie softly replied, scrunching up her nose in thought. "I think I threw it over there when the car blew up," she pointed toward a couple of trees.

"You need to find that phone," Lucy whispered. "We need to keep trying to call 911. Do you understand me? Can you go get the phone for me, and bring it back here?"

"Uh-huh!" Katie smiled at her sister. "But the opera people hung up on Mr. Gil, so they don't want to talk to us. Maybe Cath will want to talk to us, though!" she continued, as she moved off toward the trees, studying the ground for the discarded phone. "It has to be here," she mumbled, carefully picking her way through the debris, and toward where she thought it might be. "It is!" she proudly announced, bending over and grabbing it. "I have it, Lucy!"

"Good job, Katie," her sister replied, trying to stay awake. "Bring it over here, and let me see it." _God damn it, I hurt so badly. Why can't I sit up? Something has to be broken. My leg, maybe?_

"'Kay!" Running back over to her sister's body, Katie dropped down by her side, gently handing her the phone. "Here you go!"

Lucy tried to get a better grip on the phone, flipping it open, and studying the call menu. _Good_, she thought to herself. _I have a phone just like this one. _Pressing the menu button, Lucy moved through the screens, until she saw the phone number for the last received call. Dialing it, she waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello? Gil?" Catherine asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you Cath?" Lucy hesitantly asked, staring off into the distance at the still burning car.

"Yes, who's this?" Catherine worriedly asked, glancing around the car at the other CSIs.

"My name is Lucy; I'm Katie's older sister. Are you… are you coming to help us?" she asked, trying to bite back a yelp as Katie once again threw herself down on top of her body.

"We're on our way, yes, Lucy," Catherine confirmed, staring out the windshield. "Can you tell me what's going on, though?"

"I don't know," Lucy quietly replied. "And I can't move, but I can see the burning car. Katie tells me that someone by the name of Mr. Gil went after her stuffed bear, but I don't… I don't see him," she whispered.

Catherine rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to think things through. "Do you know where on the road your vehicle crashed?" she cautiously asked, glancing over at Warrick for a moment.

"Not exactly, no," Lucy replied, "But there is a downed tree in the middle of the road, and there is only one car down here, which means that Mr. Gil's car must still be up on the road."

"'Up' on the road?" Catherine asked, raising an eyebrow. "And where, specifically, are you?"

"Uh," Lucy swallowed, desperately looking around. "We're at the bottom of a small hill, which is almost like a cliff. I'd say it's around fifty feet or so. My two brothers and my sister are sitting here with me at the bottom of the hill, but neither of my brothers are awake." _Are they even alive? _she wanted to ask. "But so far, I haven't seen Mr. Gil. If he was in the car when it exploded—" she trailed off.

Catherine shook her head. "He is a very smart man, Lucy. I'm sure that he managed to get himself out of there, before it came to that." Looking at Warrick for another moment in order to get his attention, Catherine covered the receiver end of the cell phone. "How close are we?"

Warrick glanced down at the odometer, shrugging. "Five more miles, maybe? Give or take a few?"

Catherine nodded. "We'll be with you shortly, Lucy, and so will the ambulances. Just hang in there, okay? I'll stay on the phone with you, but you have to hang in there."

"Yeah," Lucy nervously whispered. "Okay."

---------------

**The Denali**

Back in the Denali, Sara anxiously listened to Catherine's side of the conversation. She was worried sick about Grissom, and she wanted to be the one to talk to whoever was on the other end of the phone—if just to be doing _something_, rather than nothing,to help. "If something happens to him—" she softly mumbled under her breath, leaning forward in her seat in order to better hear what was being said.

"We'll get him Sar," Nick whispered, gently putting a comforting hand on her arm. "He's a smart man, and we'll get him." _But is he smart enough to avoid an explosion? I hope so._

"We're on our way, yes, Lucy," Catherine's voice overrode that of Nick's. "Can you tell me what's going on?"

_Good, _Sara thought. _Get the kid talking, and see what she knows. She has to know something. Please, for God's sake, know something! _Sara wanted to scream, feeling her face pale even more, and her breathing grow shallower by the moment.

Greg glanced over at Sara, raising an eyebrow. She was obviously very tense and anxious, and it appeared as if she was about to pounce on some unknown assailant. Although the entire team already knew that there was something going on between Grissom and Sara, it never ceased to surprise him when he saw evidence of their budding relationship. "Calm down, Sara," he quietly told her. "You've got to breathe, or you're going to hyperventilate; and if you hyperventilate, you won't be able to help us rescue Grissom." _At this point, I'm going to assume that he could use all of the help that he can get… before it's too late._

"Shhhh," Sara mumbled, staring at Catherine as she continued to speak to Lucy. "I'm trying to listen." _But he's fine; I know that he's fine. He has to be… right?_

"Do you know where on the road your vehicle crashed?" Sara heard Catherine ask. "…'Up' on the road? And where, specifically, are you?"

_Where the hell are they? _Sara inwardly repeated Catherine's question. _If they're not on the road, then they must be at the bottom of a hill, which will make it even more difficult to get to Grissom. And if the car is on fire..._ she nervously thought to herself, trying to take a deep breath in order to calm her shaky nerves.

"Breathe, girl," Warrick told her in a low voice, staring at Sara through the rear-view mirror. "Come on, you're no good to anyone if you pass out. Breathe." _Damn it, drive faster, or you could lose Grissom! Move it! Why are you driving like a granny? _He asked himself, putting his foot down on the gas pedal even harder, and trying to push the Denali forward.

"He is a very smart man, Lucy," Catherine continued, ignoring the exchange between Sara and Warrick for a moment. "I'm sure that he managed to get himself out of there, before it came to that." Then glancing over at Warrick, Catherine covered the receiver end of her cell phone. "How close are we?"

Warrick glanced down at the odometer, shrugging. "Five more miles, maybe? Give or take a few?"

Catherine nodded. "We'll be with you shortly, Lucy, and so will the ambulances. Just hang in there, okay? I'll stay on the phone with you, but you have to hang in there," she concluded, holding the phone against her ear.

"Catherine?" Sara cleared her throat. "What's going on?"

"The car is definitely on fire," she cautiously told Sara, staring out of the windshield. "And Katie's sister hasn't seen Gil," she softly added.

"Shit," Sara whispered under her breath, as the Denali slowed down. "What are you doing, Warrick?" she then asked, staring out of her window. "You should be driving faster, not slower!"

"We're here, girl," Warrick calmly replied, flashing his brights at Brass, in order to get the other man to stop. Pulling over to the side of the road, he immediately hopped out of the Denali, jogging over to the edge of the embankment. "Holy shit," he muttered under his breath, his hands on his hips.

"What is it?" Sara asked, climbing out of the car, and running toward him. "Jesus," she quietly said, staring down at the wreckage spread out below them. Moments later, when Nick and Greg appeared next to her and Warrick, Sara tried to re-focus her attention. "We need the rope, and we need it now. I'm going down there," she announced to everyone.

"Wait a minute," Greg said in a low voice, paling, as he stared at the still burning car.

"What is it, Greggo?" Nick asked, following his line of sight, and trying to see what his colleague was seeing.

Greg remained silent, his gaze riveted to something next to the car.

"Bro?" Nick tried again. "What do you see?"

"I think I see—" he trailed off.

"Damn it, I see it, too," Warrick spoke up, already jogging back to the Denali, in order to get the supplies.

"What do you see?" Catherine asked, peering over the edge of the embankment. And then she saw it, too. "Where the hell are the ambulances?" she shouted to the police officers, who were slowly making their way over to the cliff.

"What the hell are you all looking at?" Sara yelled out in frustration.

"Grissom. I see Grissom," Greg simply replied, swallowing the bile in his throat that had been steadily building up. "I see Grissom next to the Saturn, and he isn't moving."

"No—no, you don't see him," Sara whispered, ignoring Greg's statement. _That's impossible, because Grissom would be moving. _

---------------

TO BE CONTINUED 


	8. Spiderman

**A/N: **Well, I hope everyone has enjoyed reading _The Storm_! This is the very last chapter, and as always, I sincerely appreciate everyone for taking the time to read and/or review what I have written. Special thanks goes out to **RocketScientist **for suggesting something along these lines (I hope that I didn't disappoint you!), **Aruna Hart Joe Hardy's girl **(I'm secretly nice at heart!), **just me**(I love cliffhangers! Mwahaha…!), **SarahRead **(I'm glad that you liked the first chapters!), **kiramyia** (thanks!), **csi020gsr **(here ya go! No more cliffhangers!), **QTR **(thanks! But you're great at cliffhangers, too. I know this for a fact!), **Mystical Panther** (hehe, you swore? Yea!), and **odeepblue **(you'll have to read on to find out!).

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**Disclaimer:** I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.

**Title: **_Spiderman_

**Summary: **A raging storm, four trapped children, and an exploding vehicle. Will Grissom be able to save the day?

_---------------_

**Mountain Pass Road**

"That isn't him," Sara repeated, numbly staring down the small cliff toward the car. _But shit, it's him_, she finally admitted to herself, blinking back several tears. "Warrick? Do you have the supplies, yet?" she called out over her shoulder, trying to snap back into action.

"Workin' on it, girl," Warrick replied, glancing at her for a brief moment.

"I'll help him," Nick spoke up, jogging over to the Denali.

"Yeah, I will, too," Greg nodded in agreement, finally tearing his eyes away from Grissom's prone body.

"Lucy?" Catherine calmly said into the phone, staring down over the edge of the embankment. "We're here, up above you, and we're going to help you and your siblings. I'm going to hang up now, though, okay?" she continued. After having received some sort of confirmation from Lucy, Catherine hung up her cell phone, shoving it back into her pocket. "We'll get him, Sara," she said, resting a reassuring hand on the other woman's arm.

Sara nodded, trying to swallow her panic. _If he's not already dead. Just get up,_ she wanted to scream at Grissom. _Just get up, and walk back toward those kids! _"Just get the rope," Sara quietly mumbled. "And prepare to brace me, because I'm going down there."

"I don't think that that's such a good idea, girl," Warrick softly stated, returning with some of the supplies, and hearing the tail end of Sara's sentence. "I think that it would be best if you remained up on top," he trailed off. _Just in case we find him… dead._

"Get the fucking rope ready, because I'm going down," Sara immediately shot back, turning around, and grabbing the harness out of Warrick's hands.

"At least let Nick or I go down there first," Warrick calmly continued, taking the harness back from Sara's shaky hands, and slinging it over his shoulder. "I know that you want to help Grissom, but right now, we need people down there who are thinking clearly."

"What the hell are you implying?" Sara snapped. "That I'm not calm? Or that I'm not in my right mind?"

Greg, coming up behind Warrick, coughed, staring at the ground. _Yeah, if you're calm and thinking clearly, then I'm the Tooth Fairy._

Sara rubbed the back of her neck, staring at Warrick, Greg, and finally, Catherine. "Fine," she acquiesced. "Fine, you're right; of course you're right," she sighed, turning around to stare over the edge of the cliff. Folding her arms across her chest, she swallowed. "Just go fast."

"We will, Sara," Warrick promised her, suiting himself up in the harness.

"The ambulances are only a couple of miles out," Brass announced, approaching the group of CSIs. "Warrick, you're going down?" he half-asked, half-stated.

"Yeah," Warrick confirmed, glancing at the detective.

"So am I," Nick added, looking over at Warrick.

"Be careful, then," Brass simply told both men.

Warrick nodded, as he handed one end of the rope to Nick. "Belay me down?" he asked, backing up to the edge of the embankment.

"You got it, man," Nick told him, setting up the carabineers. "Just take it nice and slow, Rick, and wait for me at the bottom."

"Okay," Warrick replied, as he backed himself over the edge of the embankment, and started walking down the side.

_This is absolutely crazy_, Greg thought to himself, as he moved toward Sara, standing beside her. "Are you doing okay?" he quietly asked his friend.

"How do you _think _I'm doing, Greg?" Sara angrily mumbled, turning to glare at him.

Greg's expression of concern instantly turned to one of hurt, as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I was just… asking," he whispered.

Swallowing, Sara's face slowly softened, as she stared at the ground. "I know, and I'm sorry," she told him. "You're just trying to help me, and I'm sorry. You don't deserve the wrath of Sara Sidle. No one does."

_You've got that right,_ Greg thought to himself, trying to flash Sara a small smile. "It's okay, I understand. Just… hang in there. Grissom won't want to see you this upset, when we bring him back up here." _If Grissom is still alive when we bring him back here, that is._

"Just take it easy, Sara," Catherine added, standing on her other side, and watching Warrick's progress. "I need you to remain calm for me, okay?"

"Hell, _Grissom_ needs you to remain calm for him," Brass spoke up, before walking over toward Nick. "Is he almost down there?"

"Yeah, he is, Jim," Nick replied, letting out a little bit more of the rope. "He should touch the ground in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1," he counted down, sighing in relief as Warrick hit the ground. "You okay, bro?" he loudly called out.

"Yeah," Warrick shouted back, releasing himself from the harness, and immediately moving over to the children. "Are the paramedics here yet?" he asked, checking their pulses.

"They'll be here in one minute," Nick yelled, glancing over at Greg. "Belay me, please," he quickly ordered his colleague, before slipping into his own harness.

"They all have pulses," Warrick announced, glancing up at the top of the cliff. "I'm going to go check on Grissom now!" he added.

Nick nodded, as he walked himself down the embankment, throwing off his harness once he was at the bottom. Jogging over toward Warrick, he frowned, when he saw the extent of Grissom's wounds. "He's burnt pretty badly, bro," he quietly said. Grissom, laying a short distance away from the car, appeared to have been thrown by the blast force, causing more damage that Nick had expected to see.

"Is he—" Warrick trailed off, afraid to verbalize his question.

"I don't know," Nick whispered, shaking his head. "I can't tell; we need to check him for a pulse."

"Why haven't they checked him yet?" Sara wheeled on Catherine, raising an eyebrow. "What the hell are they waiting for?"

"They're just trying to assess the situation, Sara. Calm down," the older woman told her. "Breathe, and give them a chance."

_Please be alive, please be alive, please be alive_, Greg chanted to himself. _Please—_

—_Be alive, please be alive, please be alive, _Catherine told herself.

_If you're not alive, I'm going to fucking kick your ass, _Sara thought to herself. _And don't think that I won't hunt you down in death, because I will. So you'd better be alive, s_he continued, trying to swallow her nervousness.

"So check for a pulse," Warrick told Nick, kneeling down beside his friend.

"Yeah, okay, man," Nick nodded, reaching two tentative fingers out to Grissom's neck. Sliding his fingers down to the other man's pulse point, he anxiously pressed harder, trying to find some sign of life.

"Is he…?" Warrick asked Nick, before glancing up the embankment at Sara. Even though he was too far away to see her exact expression, he knew that she had to be extremely anxious right now.

"I… don't know, Rick," Nick swallowed. "I can't feel his damned pulse! I can't feel his damned pulse," he nervously repeated his statement.

"Shit," Warrick mumbled, as he motioned Nick away. "Let me try."

"Why is Warrick trying?" Sara numbly asked Brass. "Why is he double checking Nick's assessment?"

_Oh, hell, Gil, _Brass thought to himself. _Please tell me that you didn't go and get yourself killed? _he thought to himself, ignoring Sara's question.

"Why the _hell _is Warrick trying?" Sara repeated her question, taking another step closer to the edge of the embankment.

"Sara," Catherine whispered, once again resting her hand on the younger woman's arm to try to stop her from lunging over the side of the cliff.

_Shit, _Greg nervously thought to himself, staring down at the ground. _Shit, that's not a good sign._

"Where's his pulse?" Nick again asked Warrick, beginning to panic.

Warrick ignored Nick, as he slid his own two fingers down Grissom's neck. "Come on, Gris. Where's your pulse? You have to have one, man."

"Damn it," Nick whispered, lowering his ear to Grissom's chest, trying to find a pulse that way.

Warrick closed his eyes, sliding his fingers a little bit to the side, once again searching for a pulse. "Wait a minute, Nicky," he softly said, pressing harder into Grissom's neck. "Hold on a second."

"What?" Nick anxiously asked, lifting his head from Grissom's chest, and rubbing the back of his neck. "Do you feel something?"

"I… I'm not sure," Warrick admitted, closing his eyes, and sliding his fingers a little bit more to the side. "Shit," he finally said, opening his eyes, and glancing at Nick.

"What? What is it?" Nick worriedly asked.

Greg blinked, staring down at Warrick and Nick, as if trying to read their minds. "Can anyone see their expressions?" he asked Sara, Brass, and Catherine.

"No, I can't," Brass shook his head.

"We're too far away," Catherine added.

"Shut up," Sara mumbled, taking one step closer to the edge of the cliff. "What is it?" she finally yelled, trying to get Warrick or Nick to answer her.

Warrick swallowed, looking over at Nick. "He's got a pulse, but it's extremely weak," he quietly reported. "We need to move him away from this vehicle, and we absolutely need to do it now."

"But he _does _have a pulse?" Nick asked again, as if to assure himself of the fact that Grissom was going to live.

"A weak one, but yeah," Warrick confirmed, slipping his hands underneath Grissom's armpits. "Grab his legs, Nicky," he then added. "Let's get him out of here."

"He's dead," Sara whispered, lowering her gaze to the ground. "He's dead, and that's why they won't answer me." Closing her eyes, she tried to hold back her tears, her hand moving to cover her mouth.

Still staring at Warrick and Nick, Catherine raised an eyebrow. "Actually, Sara," she trailed off, as she watched the two CSIs safely carry Grissom toward the embankment.

"They're waving at us," Greg anxiously observed. "Does that mean—?" he cautiously asked.

Sara, the tears finally sliding down her cheeks, looked down at Warrick and Nick. _They look worried, but they don't look like they just lost a best friend_, she excitedly noted to herself.

"He has a pulse," Warrick called up to his waiting colleagues. "But it's an extremely weak one." Looking directly at Sara, he frowned. "And I'm not going to lie to you, girl," he hesitantly added. "He doesn't look good."

"But he's alive?" Sara eagerly questioned him, trying to wipe away her tears.

"Yeah, girl, he's alive," Warrick smiled.

---------------

**Desert Palms Hospital, two days later**

"Hey, girl," Warrick cleared his throat, leaning against the doorpost of Grissom's hospital room.

"Hey, yourself," Sara tiredly replied, not bothering to turn around to look at her friend. In two days, she had spent the majority of her free time by Grissom's bedside, waiting for him to wake up.

"Uh, Sar," Nick hesitantly spoke up, walking into the room. "We've been talking, and—" he trailed off, uneasily glancing at Warrick and Greg.

"We think that you need to go home and get some rest," Greg finished Nick's sentence for him, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck. "We'll take you out to dinner, and then we really think that you need to go home."

"No," Sara stubbornly mumbled, leaning over, and gently resting her hand on top of Grissom's burnt one.

"Sar," Nick tried again. "You being here is nice and all, but Grissom wouldn't want you to spend your days in a cramped hospital chair, eating dinner out of a vending machine, and just waiting for him to wake up."

"Gris would want you to get some rest in your own bed, girl," Warrick added, glancing over at Greg and Nick for support. _This isn't exactly going very well._

"No," Sara immediately repeated her earlier answer, lightly brushing her thumb against Grissom's hand. _Why won't you just wake up?_ she wanted to know. _You saved all four kids, Grissom. Please, you deserve to wake up and feel fine_, she added, as tears once again welled up in her eyes.

"…Can we get you anything?" Greg finally asked, resigned to the fact that Sara was not going to move. "Some food? A book to read?"

"I'm fine," Sara whispered. "And I'll go home in a few hours, I promise," she swallowed, her voice hitching in her throat. "I just want to stay with him for a little bit… he'll be disoriented when he wakes up, and I don't want him to be nervous," she quietly informed them, studying Grissom's face. Burned and bruised, he looked absolutely nothing like his former self. _I'm so sorry_, Sara wanted to tell him, glancing down at the gash along his forehead, and his swollen eye. _If only we had gotten there sooner, or if only you hadn't gone back for that stupid bear_, she continued to think, before closing her eyes. _And now look at you. You have cuts and scrapes all over your body, you're burned, and you have a broken rib. I just want you to wake up. Please, just wake up!_

"Call us if you need anything, girl," Warrick sighed, as he turned around, and walked out of the hospital room.

"Yeah, call us if you need anything," Greg echoed Warrick's words.

"And get some rest, Sar," Nick whispered, following his friends out of the room.

Sara brought her hand back over to the railing of Grissom's bed, staring down at him. "I love you, you know," she started to talk to him. "It's funny, but when I first met you at that seminar ten years ago, I was convinced that we would somehow end up together. I was just a college kid, and you were already and expert in your field, but damn it, Grissom, I sensed some sort of a connection between us."

Out in the hallway, Catherine walked toward Greg, Warrick, and Nick. "No luck, guys?" she softly asked.

"Nah," Nick shook his head no. "We offered to take her out to dinner, but she won't leave his bedside. She's convinced that he's going to wake up soon."

"Well, thank you for trying," Catherine sighed, her hands on her hips. "I'm going to hang around here for a little while longer, and I'll try to talk to her before I leave. Go home, and get some rest," she told her three colleagues.

"Do you want us to stay with you, Cath?" Warrick asked, glancing over at her.

"No, but thank you for the offer," she gave him a small smile. "Go grab some food, and head home. Goodnight, everyone."

"Night, Cath," Greg mumbled, heading off down the hallway.

"Goodnight," Nick added, following Greg.

"I'll see you at the lab tomorrow?" Warrick quietly asked.

Catherine simply shook her head yes, before turning her gaze toward Grissom's door. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Warrick," she added, before walking over to her supervisor's room.

"And you know what else?" Sara quietly asked Grissom. "I almost asked you out after the seminar, but it wasn't… proper, I suppose," she shrugged. "So I tried to forget about you, ignoring the thought that perhaps we could have something together."

Standing just outside of Grissom's door, Catherine bit her lip, listening to Sara's muted voice speaking to him.

"But when I got the call from you to come to Vegas," she continued. "All of the emotions flooded back. We've just been down a long road, you know what I mean? And now that we've been together for six months, and now that I finally feel comfortable with you, this happens…" she whispered. "Grissom, I just—" Sara trailed off, hot tears starting to sting her eyes. "I love you, okay? Please don't die. I love you more than anything else in the world."

"I… too," Grissom tried to whisper, his voice coming out strained and painful sounding.

"…What?" Sara blinked, sniffling.

"Love… too," he tried again, slowly cracking an eye open.

"You're awake," Sara softly stated, anxiously leaning over the bed, and immediately touching one of Grissom's fingers. "You're awake," she excitedly repeated, as she started to cry in earnest. "Thank God, you're awake!"

"Yeah, thank God you're awake," Catherine smiled from out in the hallway, running off to find a doctor to help Grissom. "Thank God, you're going to make it."

Grissom swallowed, staring up at Sara. "Kids?"

"They're all fine, Grissom," she whispered. "Every single one of them; they survived, because of you," she informed him, immediately realizing that he probably needed some water to wet his throat. Standing up, Sara quickly walked over to the sink, getting Grissom a glass of water and a straw. Returning to his bedside, she held the straw up to his lips, holding it steady for him.

"Good," Grissom mumbled, taking a few sips of the cool liquid.

"But you were a fool," Sara continued, still sniffling. "Why'd you go after that stupid stuffed bear? Was it really worth your life?" she asked him, taking a deep breath.

But before Grissom could answer her question, however, he heard loud footsteps coming down the hallway. "Mr. Gil!" Katie excitedly shouted. "Mr. Gil, Mr. Gil, Mr. Gil!" she screamed, running into his room, Mr. Peanut clutched tightly to her chest. "I heard some guy over a speaker say that you were awake!" she grinned, pushing past Sara in order to reach his side.

Grissom licked his lips, trying to wet his mouth. "Hi," he managed to get out.

"Look!" she thrust her teddy bear toward his face. "You saved Mr. Peanut's life! They found him in your arms, and the doctor said that even though he is burned really bad—" she pointed to the singe marks on his fur— "He's gonna live! And you know what else?" she asked, barreling on ahead. "He'll be all better soon," she smiled. "So thank you for saving him, Mr. Gil. And thank you for saving me, and my brothers, and my sister, too."

Grissom blinked, not entirely sure what to say to the little girl. He was glad that she and her siblings had survived, but he felt so tired, and slightly disoriented.

"And guess what, Mr. Gil!" Katie eagerly continued, bouncing from foot to foot in excitement. "My mommy and daddy want to meet you, because they said that you're a real hero! Like… SpongeBob! Or… the prince from Cinderella! Or…" she scrunched up her face in thought. "Or Spiderman!" she proudly added.

Sara couldn't help but laugh, watching Grissom interact with Katie. _Spiderman? Definitely like Spiderman._

"Katie," a man's voice suddenly called out, as he jogged into the hospital room. "Mr. Grissom?" he asked. "I'm so sorry that my little girl is bothering you, Sir. He needs to sleep, Katie," he chided his daughter. "Let the poor man sleep."

"But he's a hero, Daddy!" Katie grinned from ear to ear. "And heroes don't need to sleep! Right…?"

"Well this one does, sweetheart," he replied, flashing Grissom an apologetic smile. "But thank you, Sir, for saving the lives of my children."

"And of Mr. Peanut!" Katie added. "You're my bestest friend in the whole-wide-world, Mr. Gil!" she smiled. "Well, my second bestest friend in the whole-wide-world," she amended her statement, squeezing Mr. Peanut tightly between both hands.

Grissom blinked, trying to smile at everyone in the room. "You're welcome, Sir," he told her father. "And you're mine, too," he glanced at Katie, before his eyes slipped closed.

"Grissom…?" Sara whispered, studying his face.

"Tired…" he mumbled, as several doctors came in to check up on him. "But that's why, Sara," he quietly added. _I went after the bear for Katie, and yes, it was worth it. _With that, Grissom quietly fell back to sleep.

"What's he mean, Sara?" Katie curiously asked her.

"Nothing, honey. Nothing at all," Sara smiled, knowing exactly what Grissom had meant. _And although you were still a fool, I love you even more for it._

---------------

**Las Vegas Crime Lab, three months later**

"Welcome back, Grissom," Judy, the receptionist, warmly smiled at him, as he entered the building.

"Thank you," Grissom quietly replied, as he glanced around the front entryway of the building. "It's been awhile," he simply stated, rubbing his beard.

"Yes it has," she agreed, setting a large box down on the flat surface of her desk, and gently shoving it toward him. "This came for you a couple of weeks ago," she informed him. "We would have mailed it home to you, but Ecklie wouldn't allow us to," she sighed. "And we would have sent it home with Sara, but—" she trailed off.

"That's fine," Grissom nodded, curiously tilting his head to the side as he picked up the package, studying the outer wrapping. _It's not commercial_, he noted. _It must be personal. _ "I'll be in my office if anyone needs me," he added, shuffling off down the hallway. Still staring at the box as he opened the door to his office, Grissom looked up, feeling someone standing just behind him. "Hello, Sara," he calmly greeted her, knowing that it was her, without even having to turn around.

"Hey, welcome back," Sara smiled, walking past him, and into his office.

"Thank you," Grissom absent-mindedly rubbed his beard, setting the box down on his desk. Peeling the tape away from the sides, he glanced over at her, sighing. "I'm glad to be back, actually," he admitted, pulling the flaps up, once it was divested of its tape.

"Yeah, I'll bet," Sara grinned. "There's just so much sitting around one can do."

"Unless it's sitting around with you, that is," Grissom raised an eyebrow, before picking something up out of the box. "Interesting," he then commented.

"What is it?" Sara asked, walking over to him, and peering over his shoulder.

"Here, read this," Grissom cleared his throat, handing a note over to Sara.

"'Dear Mr. Gil,'" Sara read aloud. "'Lucy is writing this letter for me, 'cause I wanted to thank you again... and I can't write. Mr. Peanut is very happy now, and he still sleeps on my bed every single night. The car thing scared him, and so did the Boogeyman, but he's happy that he's still alive… thanks to you.'"

While Sara read, Grissom looked into the box, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"'Jake is still as mean as ever,'" Sara continued. "'But I still love him. Shh, don't tell him that I said that though, 'kay? It's a secret! And Bobby says thank you, too. He's going away to school next year, and I'm gonna miss him. But he told me that he'll come back and visit me soon, so that's good, right? He's gonna be a teacher… kind of like my nursery school teacher, but for science. Why would anyone want to teach that?'" Sara couldn't help but laugh, glancing up at Grissom. "She's…unique, I'll give her that much," she admitted.

Grissom nodded, peering at Sara over the top of his glasses. "She's a talker, that's for sure."

Sara bit her lip, as she looked back down at the letter. "'Lucy is gonna go away for the summer, too, and I'll miss her…but I'll still have Mr. Peanut, so it'll be okay! Speaking of Mr. Peanut, he has a present for you. Mr. Peanut told me that he wanted you to have Butter, who is his bestest friend in the whole-wide-world… oh, and he's magical, too. My mommy and daddy put Butter in the box for you, so I hope that you like him. Thank you again, Mr. Gil! Love, Katie.' 'Butter…?' Sara asked Grissom in confusion, throwing a sideways glance at the box. "Who is 'Butter?'"

Grissom grinned, pulling a yellow-colored bear out of the box. "Sara Sidle? Meet Butter," he pursed his lips, holding the bear out to her.

"That was oddly… nice of her," Sara admitted, taking the stuffed animal from Grissom's outstretched hands. "And he will fit in perfectly with your other furry little creatures," she teased him.

"Yes, he will," Grissom winked at her, before heading toward his office door. "And one more thing, Sara," he hesitated for a moment, turning around to look at her.

"Hmm…?" Sara asked, following him toward the door.

"Thank you for sticking with me during the recovery process," Grissom quietly said, his gaze meeting hers as he slightly tilted his head to the side. "I don't say it enough, but I love you."

"I love you, too," Sara beamed "Now let's get to work…Spiderman."

Grissom chuckled, nodding. "You got it, Mary Jane Watson."

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_Finis_ __


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